NZ TIMBER
John (Jock) Weir led a colourful and challenging life, to emerge as a King Country sawmilling legend for good reason. We take a look at sawmilling’s glory days.
They’ll put it under the shed, stack it up and leave it for six months, sometimes a year.”
Carlos confirms this, saying Ignition Firewood also sells plenty of wood in the summer season with “a big marketing push” to do some big sales in the off season: “Like 50% off compared to winter prices, and yeah we do move a hell of a lot of wood then as well which is the best time of year to buy it. So people will be saving a lot of money and then come wintertime their wood will be perfectly dry to burn. That’s something I’ve been pushing people to do more of since I started and yeah, it’s working well.”
Large undercover storage allows for year-round production of dry stockpiles to supplement the volumes to keep up with winter demand at City Firewood. “When the demand drops off, there’s a point in time when our production exceeds the demand and at that point we start storing again. So, we just start building up dry stock. We keep drying and we keep storing dry wood and we build it, build it, build it, so it keeps going round in a cycle,” explains Robbie.
This efficiency is achieved with the help of extensive machinery, from log handling machines to heavy log lifting, firewood processing machines, a 40-tonne forklift, log loaders, delivery trucks and everything in between.
Of course, the business is not without its challenges. “There’s always something that you can’t foresee that tends to throw it off,” says Robbie. “Even the weather patterns can change a lot. So, you can have the La Nina and El Nino weather conditions that change how cold or warm the winter is and things like COVID-19 can throw things off. So, there’s a lot of different factors and that’s where the kilns come in handy really, because if there is more demand we can continue to produce dry wood. People who don’t have a kiln have to make that guess a year in advance and they have to cut it and dry it and what they’ve got, that’s all they’ve got available. So, if the demand is greater they can’t really do much other than try to sell wet wood, which reputable sellers won’t do, but there are a lot of people who do.”
As to producing firewood for some extra income when times are tough, Robbie says it depends on where you live: “In Canterbury it’s obviously quite hard because there’s not as many logs. If you’re in the North island there’s an abundance of logs. The south of the South Island or the north of the South Island there’s an abundance of logs as well.
So, you can get your hands-on logs and you can process them and sell them but suppliers don’t like to shop around with people too much. Firewood people are notorious for not paying their bills, so forestry companies prefer to stay with the tried and true kind of people who pay their bills every month.”
As to COVID-19, with 25% of City Firewood’s annual sales collected from its boot load bin, Level-4 lockdown had a surprisingly positive effect. “We were no longer allowed pickups and a lot of people were very concerned about the wood so we got a really large spike in orders on top of the usual pre-winter March/April rush. The day the lockdown was announced was by far the largest amount of orders we’ve ever received in one day,” says Robbie.
On the downside though, COVID-19 created an instant four-week delivery delay. Normally trigger events to buy firewood might be a snow announcement or a shortage announcement, says Robbie. “Pickups were good but efficiency was down for deliveries with pre-loading and switching vehicles problematic under the restrictions. The initial demand then slowed down, though that’s not unusual for that time of year,” he says. And the expected mid-winter demand should still
be around the corner.
On the processor side, John says there was “a huge influx of enquiries” on firewood processors when COVID-19 hit. There are a number of reasons for that, he says: “Everyone was buying firewood, there was panicked buying out there. A lot of suppliers were flat out delivering. A bit like the toilet paper problem. People were getting worried they couldn’t get heating if COVID-19 caused havoc.
“It was an essential business too, which meant firewood operators could carry on doing their job. That flowed through to an increase in enquiries about firewood processors and prompted operators to do a bit of research.”
And the firewood industry was deemed essential for good reason as more than 100 homes of Hauraki Iwi in need were provided with firewood over the COVID-19 lockdown. Amelia Williams, Executive Chair of Ngati Tara Tokanui Trust responded to concerns expressed by local kuia, Nancye Gage, about many families living in cold, damp homes and unable to source firewood at the time.
“Many Maori whanau struggle to stay warm over winter. Usually firewood is collected from farms or roadsides but this year, we were emerging from isolation straight into the colder winter months,” says Amelia.
She wrote to the Prime Minister, Department of Conservation (DOC) and Andy Warren of forestry company Rayonier Matariki Forests during lockdown to see if an arrangement could be put in place to support whanau. A plan was developed to access non-merchantable wood from Rayonier Matariki Forests’ plantations in Tairua and Athenree Forests – the trees that had to be left on the forest floor during Level 4, unable to be processed into higher quality products, due to degradation. Andy organised with Coromandel Contractors to recover the shortlength wood.
The wood was distributed to families in Thames, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Waihi and Te Puru, and Andy also joined forces with forestry company counterpart, Ernslaw One, in order to supply Manaia, Whitianga and Wharekaho families from the Whangapoua Forest.
“There are some families in desperate situations and the 10-15 truckloads of wood brought out of our forests should go some way to helping a large number of people,” he says.
Still think the firewood industry is forestry’s poor cousin? Think again.
NZL
JOHN (JOCK) WEIR WAS BORN IN PORT GORDON BANFFSHIRE Scotland in 1893. He was orphaned at the age of six years and emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 18 in 1911. Little did he realise that in the future he was to become a leader in the King Country’s great native timber industry.
Jock attempted to enlist when WW1 broke out in 1914 but was rejected on medical grounds. He then travelled back to England to enlist with the Gordon Highlanders, only to be rejected again on medical grounds. He returned to New Zealand again in 1916 to the King Country and went into partnership with a friend in a store at Mananui.
He then went into a store venture at Kakahi which at the time was a thriving town with a large timber company, Watkins Brothers, based there. At Kakahi Jock met and married Miss Gladys Robertson, a Kakahi girl. They left Kakahi to take up farming at Okoroire.
There was an economic depression in 1921 when Mr and Mrs Weir returned to the King Country, first settling in Raurimu and then moving to Kakahi where, in 1926, Jock went into partnership with Ray Weir, first in post splitting and then saw milling – their first mill being built at Te Rena near Kakahi in 1927.
After the success of this venture another mill was built, and after this a third mill at Mangatepopo, 15 miles from Waihi (Tokaanu) in 1929. In 1937 Jock was successful in acquiring a freehold block of 800 acres of mainly good quality T otara near Waihi from Ellis & Burnard. The price paid for this block was 37,000 pounds.
A mill from Mangatepopo was relocated on this block and Jock commenced milling in 1938. This mill was known as the WaihiPukawa mill. Also purchased in the same area was the mill of Hopkins, Speirs and Winger (Hoppy’s Mill). Jock managed this mill from 1940.
Shortly after Jock took over there was a massive jump in profit. So much in fact that the Maori owners of the block almost doubled the royalty price on the logs.
In 1946 a partnership of Mr A.M. Collier, Mr Weir and his two sons formed the Taumarunui Timber Company. Jock died on 30 October 1970. He was predeceased by his son Neil in 1947 and his wife in 1962. He was survived by his sons Roy and Ian.
Some Turangi area sawmills
In the 40’s and up to the late 60’s there were several sawmills cutting within 20 miles of Turangi.
All of these mills drew their log supply from Maori-owned blocks. Banks would not lend against undeveloped Maori lands so the only way to get any income for the owners was to sell the logging rights. For example the logging rights to the Waipari were sold to Fletchers in the early 60’s for one million pounds. This money was used to develop a large farm.
This is by no means an exhaustive, complete list but it gives some idea how many mills were near the Turangi area in the period:
• Jack Bishara’s Hauhungaroa Sawmill 1940’s-50’s.
• Bishara’s Mill Mangahouhou (also known as Cherry’s) closed 1962. • Boon Bros. Te Aputa Mill 1950’s.
• Hutt Timber Co. Mill Moerangi.
• McKee’s Mill Otukou 1941-45.
• McKee’s Mill Turangi 1953-58.
• McKee’s Mill Waituhi 1945-49.
• Perrett’s Mill 1944-54 became Fletcher Timber Co Te Rimu 1954-61. • Joe Rees Moerangi.
• Smith and Co. Lake Timber Co. Parakaumanga.
• Smith and Co. Lake Timber Co Ruamata 1938-49.
• Smith’s Lake Mill No 2 Ruamata 1938-49.
• McKee’s Mill Turangi 1953-58.
• McKee’s Mill Waituhi 1945-49.
• Taringamutu Mill Waipari.
• Hauwai Mill Pukawa.
• Summit Mill Te Raina 1956-67. In its 11 years of operation, this mill produced over a hundred million board feet of sawn timber at an average of 31,000 board feet a day.
• Waihi Pukawa Mill 1938. Hopkins, Speirs and Winger (also known as Hoppy’s Mill, also at Pukawa).
• Waimanu Timber Co. Otukou.
• Weir and Kenny had a mill at Waihi (Tokaanu) December 19381945.
• Weir & Kenny’s Otukou 1945-1966.
Weir & Kenny Otukou: 1945-1966
This mill was situated 23 miles east of National Park off the present road between Turangi and National Park. It was built in the Waimanu Block on the edge of what is now Rotoaira Forest off Waione Road. The Waimanu Block was 997 acres and had mainly good quality Matai trees along with some Totara and Rimu trees. Jock Weir paid 46,000 pounds for this block in 1945.
Logs were also sourced from freehold land, and Maori blocks which included Oraukura No2 B1 and Oraukura 2A B1.
Mill power source
The mill was very much a ground breaker as regards the power source. Most mills of the period were powered by steam engines. Weir & Kenny’s Otukou mill was powered by a diesel engine from the start. The engine was a D 13,000 of 100 horsepower imported from America in 1948. It arrived in Taumarunui on a Friday and was installed and ready for operation on the Monday.
Jock Weir told the Taumarunui paper that these modern power units were proving to be highly efficient. They could be installed very easily and speedily and were in almost general use amongst saw millers in Canada and America. They gave no trouble and were economical to operate.
Mill staff and their jobs
Information supplied by Brian Neilson (ex-employee).
Tractor drivers: Jim Loveridge, Frank Inglis, Don Brewer
These men were responsible for the construction of the log skids, (when required) although in most cases the bulldozer and arch dragged the logs directly to mill breaking down skids and any required roading or tracking.
Once trees had been felled and brought down to the mill and been through the mill proccess to convert the logs to sawn timber, the finished product had to be taken to the market. In the days the mill operated there were no roads or trucks that are seen nowadays. The only way Weir & Kenny’s could access these markets was by rail. This entailed the use of two GMC trucks which carted the sawn timber to National Park and the fording of three river crossings as there were no bridges in those days.
Mill manager/saw doctor: Jack Mantle, Charlie O’Brien
The mill’s production and quality depended on these two men. Normal practise was for the saw doctor to give the saws a touch-up during lunch time. A spare set of saws was kept on hand and after the day’s work the saw doctor would spend time checking and sharpening the saws for the next day’s work. The normal mill ran a double saw rig for the initial breaking down of logs, a breast bench saw on which the finches were cut down to required size, and a goose saw which cut timber from the breast bench to length as well as docking and cutting out any defects. Cookhouse: Morris and Mrs Bell
Probably one of the most important jobs in the mill. If the cook didn’t prepare good meals the workers liked, the mill boss soon knew about it. It wasn’t unknown for workers to leave when the cook moved to another mill.
Mill workers: Paddy and Frank O’Brien, Tiny and Darkie Caruthers, Mick Isherwood, Heta Konui, Jock Morgan, Morris Bell, Turanga, Les Brewer, Terry Brewer, Roly Allen, John Inglis.
When Trevor Coker, the writer, worked there 1959/60: • Skiddy – Sonny Tupara
• Breaking down – Dean Eynon, Brian Neilson
• Bench – George Pine
• Tailing out – Jimmy Konui, Laurie Pine
• Slabby – Eddie Pine
• Goose – Joe Moana, Peter Pine
• Runner out – Hori Pine
• Yardman – Fred Brewer
NZL