INDUSTRIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 8125, 23 March 1887, Page 3 (Supplement)

INDUSTRIES OF NEW ZEALAND.

LECTURE BY MR BLAIR

On Feb. 24, in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Lichfield street, Mr W. N. Blair. M. Inst. C.E , delivered an address to the Industrial Association of Canterbury, on the “ Industries of New Zealand. The President of the Association, Mr F. Jenkins, presided. The following is an extract from the central part of the lecture, which was illustrated by diagrams showing the amount of our imports and exports every year from 1841 to 1885, the details of our exports, and the effect of our goldfields HOME INDUSTRIES. _ J •* In addition to a great variety of ordinary food preparations, which are exported in large quantities, about twenty other items of New Zealand manufactures appear among the exports. Of this number there are seven in which the amount for 1885 exceeded £3OOO, viz,, biscuits, leather, , cloth, soap, doors and sashes, woodware ; and machinery. The largest of all is leather, which has been an export since 1867. The exports have grown with few intermissions to -848,346 in 1883, the amount for 1885 being £47,054. Against this, however, our imports amount to nearly double _ these; figures. Of course the imported kinds are ' quite different from the exported ones j but. this shows that there is ample room for an expansion of the industry, particularly as we export £75.000 worth of the raw materials. Leather is-practically the only New Zealand manufacture sent to England. ( After the staff of life in its various forms, , the other .eatables that we now produce in the Colony are fancy biscuits, confection- , ary, and jams, which would do credit to the best confectioners in the old world The local products are rapidly taking the place of the imports in the principal articles all. over the Colony. Ten years ago we im- j ported about £2OOO worth of fancy biscuits. In 1885 the imports were only £773. The , imports of confectionery used to range from , £20,000 to £25,000. Now they range from j £15,000 to £20,000. The local products are valued at £17,130. From 1875 to 1881 the i imports of jam fluctuated between £35,761 j and £49,490. Since 1881 the range has ! been from £10,552 to £22 923. In 18«t5 the ' Colonial factories turned out £32,292 j worth. .Sugar, the principal ingredient in these manufactories, is itself a New Zealahd manufacture, the Auckland Sugar Refinery being now in active operation. This is an extensive establishment—the output, in 1885 was valued at £176,591. Pickles and sauces are now manufactured all over the i Colony. “ In 1885 we exported £I7BO worth of Colonial beer, but we are still far from the | exporting stage, for the imports amounted | to £102,229. Notwithstanding that about 4,500,000 gallons of beer are annually brewed in the Colony, the imports are practically keeping pace with the increase of population. There are 560 men employed in malting and brewing, and the capita! invested in the industry is estimated at £284,056. The market in aerated waters and mild cordials is mostly supplied by local products. The statistics show that there are 273 hands employed in the industry, that the capital invested is £93,478, and that £94 098 worth of the various drinks were produced in 1885. Taken altogether we are now producing not only all the necessaries but most of the luxuries of life that can be produced in temperate climes. _ _ , “In the various industries connected with manufacturing and making up leather and cloth no fewer than 4077 hands are employed, and the capital invested in land, plant, and buildings is estimated at about £330,000. In addition to the ordinary leathers used in shoemaking and saddlery, the tanneries are now manufacturing the finer kinds required for bookbinding and fancy work. Several of the native barks are used for tanning, more particularly birch bark, a large quantity of which is produced in Nelson. “In 1885 there were £185,642 worth of boots imported, and £276,725 worth made in factories in the Colony. There is no industry in New Zealand of which the. Colonists are prouder than the woollen manufactures, and they undoubtedly merit the estimation in which they are held, whether as regards the success they have achieved or the excellence of the products. The six mills in active operation at the end of 1885, work up annually 2,000,0001 b of wool, the value of which is £70,000. The cloth produced is worth £200,000, and the clothing into which it is made £600,000. If these manufactures took only the place of cloth, the amount of imports excluded by them would be of course £200,000, but if they took •’he place of ready-made clothing the amount would be tbe full £600,000. We know that they act in both ways, consequently it will probably be fair to assume that the Colonial manufactures, affect the imports to the extent of about £400,000. There has been a considerable export of our woollens to tbe neighbouring Colonies, and one or two sample shipments have found their way to England. Our furniture factories are second to tbe cloth mills in the success they have met with, hut equal to them in the beauty and excellence of their manufactures. But, considering our large supplies of beautiful woods, the industry is not so extensive as it ought to be. The imports for the last five years have averaged £57,364 as against* £66,125 for the five years ending 1880. Furniture making gives employment to 760 men. The capital invested is estimated at £103,977, and the annual output at £170,435. Ordinary earthenware for domestic purposes is manufactured at severs! of our potteries and tile works in considerable quantities ; but the manufacture of the finer kinds has not yet passed the experimental stage. A glass work on a small scale has been in operation in Auckland for some years. Its products are mainly lamp glasses and chimneys, and water bottles and jugs. Although the imi ports of common soap have increased slightly during the past two years we may say that the local product commands the market. The exports in 1886 were £576 more than tbe imports. Fancy soaps of various kinds are also manufactured at the larger works. The imports of candles fell from £96,412 in 1877 to £45,225 in 1883, but there was a rise to £74,452 in 1884 ; the amount for 1885 being £71,673. From this it would appear that the Colonial candle works are not holding their own. The annual value of the raw materials used in the manufacture of soap and candles is returned at £72,951, and that of the products at £130,745. The plant and machinery is worth £75,928, and 204 hands are employed; “Duty was paid in 1885 on 16,6131 b of native tobacco and cigars. Among the less important household and personal requisites of Colonial manufacture at the Exhibition were brooms and brushware, knife, metal, and boot-polish, soap-powder and blacking, plate and jewellery, drugs and perfumery, cod liver oil and mineral waters, and artificial limbs and fiddle strings. In building requisites the principal Colonial product is timber, which has been already referred to. According to the last returns there are 5108 hands employed in sawmills and woodware factories of various kinds, nearly an eighth of the manufacturing labour of the Colony. The capital invested in machinery, plant, and buildings is estimated at about £970,000. It is satisfactory to find that in. 1885 £7,806 worth of the timber was exported in a manufactured state. £3640.0f this was doors and sashes, and the remainder woodware. The latest timber industry established is creosoting works to preserve the less durable woods. A large establishment is now in full operation near Invercargill. It turns out 15,000 sleepers a month. After timber come brick and tile works, stone quarrying and lime burning,

■which give employment to 870 men, and in which J8198.2G7 is invested. The annual output from these industries is estimated at JE 198,207. A small quantity of the lime is exported. The drain pipes and stoneware made from the native clays are of particularly good quality, and the manufactures have been a complete success. In addition to ordinary drainage appliances the higher class of articles for building, ornamental, and sanitary purposes are produced. Hydraulic lime, equal to Portland cement for most purposes, : is now produced in Auckland. The output of the Mahurangi kilns alone is said to be about 1500 bushels a week. After numerous trials and failures New Zealand Portland cement of good quality has recently reached the market. It is manufactured at Mahurangi. Another factory is in course of erection near Dunedin. Paint made from hematite and other minerals is manufactured in Nelson and Auckland in considerable quantities. The works at the Thames produce a great variety of colours. A factory for the manufacture of varnish from kauri gum has recently been established in, Auckland. “ Rope making is an old-established industry in New Zealand. There are twopaper mills in operation, one at the Mataura and the Other at Dunedin. Whitepaper has been produced experimentally, hut the manufactures hitherto have principally been wrapping and blotting papers. Considerable quantities are produced of all kinds and colours, the total value of the manufactures in 1885 being £7280. “ Although we do not manufacture writing paper in New Zealand we contribute to literature by producing writing inks,. of which a variety was shown at the Exhibition.

“A mill for the manufacture of blasting powder has been in operation at Gatlin s River for some years. With the exception of saltpetre, all the raw materials are found in the country. There is apparently no difference in quality between the English and Colonial blasting powder. A cartridge factory has been established, and the scheme of defence will not be complete without a local supply of gunpowder. In 1885 there were six chemical works, and seven bone mills in tbe Colony, employing sixty-five hands. Among other things, the chemical works produce sulphuiic acid, which is extensively used in candlemaking and other manufactures. The annual value of the artificial manures and chemicals produced at these works is £43,620, and the capital invested is returned at £35,678. The building of carriages and other vehicles Ims of late years attained considerable proportions, about 650 men being employed in the various establishments throughout the Colony. Until of late years imported. timber was chiefly used for wheelwright work, but the native hardwoods are now coming into general use. In 1882 the value of vehicles of all kinds imported into New Zealand was £99,715, exactly £B3O above the amount for 1862. Since 1882 the imports have ranged from £23,323 to £29,528. The imports include materials for making vehicles which of late years are generally about two-thirds of the whole. The Output of the Colonial factories is estimated at £l2B 346, and £106,238 is invested in plant, machinery, and land. About 170 men are regularly employed in the building of wooden steamers, sailing vessels, and boats. The industry is confined almost entirely to Auckland, where there is an abundant supply of suitable timber. There is no more successful business in the Colony than the manufacture of agricultural implements and machinery, and this fact has a peculiar significance for those interested in the establishment of manufactures. It shows that industries of this sort find a congenial soil in New Zealand, for the one now under consideration has not been fostered nor encouraged in any way. It has not even had the slight protection of the ordinary Customs’ duty, agricultural appliances having all along been duty free. “ The latest improvement in agricultural machinery is generally in full swing at the Antipodes long before it has gained a footing in the Old Country. We still import from £50,000 to £IOO,OOO worth of plant for tilling the soil and gathering in its fruits. Agricultural implements are made at seventeen factories, and the capital invested in the industry is £50,205, 336 men are employed, and the output is estimated at £111,823. Ninety - eight iron steamers, of sufficient importance to be put on the register of shipping, have from first to last been built in New Zealand, and, with a few exceptions, their engines were also made in the Colony. Ten iron steam dredgers have also been built and engined. Land engines of all sizes are regularly made for mills, mines, and other purposes, and water motors of various kinds have long been a specialty. In connection herewith I ought to make special reference to a quartz mill now at work in the Wakatipu district. Twenty head of stampers are driven by electricity, engendered by the force of a stream nearly two miles away, and conveyed over an intervening range 800 ft high, by a No. 8 copper wire. “ Pont large bridges and a number of smaller ones, comprising in all about 1700 tons, are in course of construction, and about as much more is in immediate prospect. You are all familiar with the experiment Government is making in getting locomotives manufactured in the Colony. It promises to be as successful as the bridge building. If we can make locomotives at anything like a reasonable cost it augurs well for other engineering industries, this being a high stage in mechanical development. There is another class of iron manufactures that has acquired a firm footing in the Colony office safes, copying presses, kitchen ranges, stoves, grates, ornamental castings, and other light ironwork. In brass and copper works New Zealand seems to have fairly taken the lead of the Australian Colonies. The local manufacture of lead piping has now complete hold of the Home trade, none being imported. A new branch of tinsmith work is the manufacture of Japanned goods. The mechanical and metal industries in New Zealand give employment to 1988 men. The capital invested in land, plant, rnd machinery is £276,171 and the value of the annual output is £395,608.’’