Aratapu: Mill Town to Ghost Town
From the time of its establishment in 1864 by William Bonar until its closure in 1906, the Aratapu Mill Settlement and its sawmilling operations had a significant impact on the kauri forests located in the Northern Wairoa and Kaihu Valley river catchments. (Post by Liz)
In March 1864, William Bonar had taken up a lease from Peter Dodd on Allotment 10 of the Te Kopuru Block on the Aratapu Creek and was in the process of starting his enterprise. The mill machinery was at the time being shipped from England. By November 1864 the barque Amazone had taken on a cargo of 110,000 feet of timber.
In 1865, Bonar was well-established; however, the property he had a lease on was put up for auction in March of the same year. Its owner Peter Dodd was presumed drowned after the vessel, Maid of Kent, he captained had failed to return from a cargo run from Auckland. She had been last reported as leaving for Wellington with a cargo of wool and other sundries for Kaipara on 27 February 1865.
In June 1867 Bonar became insolvent owing £10,000 to his creditors by way of a complex series of mortgages and loans. The entire mill, land and timber were sold to James McLellan and James Irvine in the same year. The partnership trading under Aratapu Sawmills was dissolved on 25 June 1869. At the time of dissolution, Aratapu Sawmills had more than 40 employees including millworkers and bushmen. By August of the same year, the mill had been taken over by Brown, Campbell and Company. Brown, Campbell and Co put the sawmill, along with its adjoining buildings and wharf, up for auction with Samuel Cochrane and Son in Auckland in August 1871; it sold for £350. By the same year, a magistrate’s court had been set up to hear cases. In June 1872, the sawmill again changed hands and was sold by the Mercury Company to William Bonar and Benjamin Johnson.
By 1873, social life at Aratapu among the millworkers, their families and other settlers around the Northern Wairoa region had become more commonplace. In November that year, the millworkers at the Aratapu adapted one of the mill buildings for use as a public hall, opening it with a social dance on a Friday evening, while at the same time the sawmill and its property were sold to the Union Sash and Door Company; Johnson remained on board as mill manager.
The manager and employees at the Aratapu Saw Mills determining not to be outdone by their neighbours at Te Kopuru, have fixed up one of their largest buildings to be used for social recreation, lectures, and other purposes. The building was opened on Friday last with a dance, to which nearly all the settlers were invited, and the majority of those invited put in an appearance, over sixty persons being present. The room was tastefully decorated with evergreens and flowers, which gave it the appearance of a grove by moonlight, and here "the youth and beauty" of the Wairoa quadrilled, waltzed, polkaed, galloped, and flirted and enjoyed themselves until "smiling morn, at whose bright presence the darkness flies away,” warned the happy party to depart.
A correspondent had noted the adaptation of a mill building into a public hall: ‘It is pleasant to notice these signs of social and intellectual advancement at the mills, and the hearty co-operation of the surrounding settlers in the movement.’
With its takeover of the Aratapu mill site, the Union Sash and Door Company commenced erecting a new mill plant and houses for its workers.
Further up the river are situated the Aratapu mills, the old mill having been purchased by the Union Sash and Door Company. The latter, to meet the demand of their extended enterprise, are building a new sawmill, and sash and door and moulding mills. The ground is exceedingly swampy and must undoubtedly be very unhealthy. New and commodious houses for the workmen are built, and the mills are connected by tramways, which deliver the timber on a new wharf to the vessels. These mills have a contract for the delivery weekly of one hundred and fifty thousand feet of timber in logs, so the business will be rather considerable.
By October 1875, the first Aratapu schoolhouse was built for use as a full-time school. It also served as a venue for the Aratapu Public Library and for the Order of The Good Templars and public meetings. By 1879, a new schoolhouse was built and the original school building became the Aratapu Public Library now situated at the Dargaville Museum.
In October 1876, the question was raised about the need for a public hall for the Aratapu mill settlement.
There is great agitation amongst the residents as to the advisability of building a hall at Aratapu, such hall to be used as a place of worship for the various denominations on Sundays, and for public meetings or entertainments on other evenings. As to the necessity of such a building, I can truly affirm, as at the various Good Templar entertainments, dances, &c, lately held, the present building has been filled to inconvenience. A meeting is shortly to be held to test the feelings of the inhabitants on the subject.
In July 1877, it was reported new buildings were under construction including a new public hall … Aratapu is also going ahead. A large hall, new stores, and new houses are being erected on all sides ...
On July 27 1877 the new Aratapu Public Hall was opened with much fanfare.
… The building is a fine structure, the best of its kind in the province north of Auckland. and would be a credit to Auckland itself. Architects and master builders might profit by an inspection. The material is the very best, and the workmanship excellent. The size of the building is 60 feet by 26 feet; anterooms at the back. 20 feet by 11 feet; porch, 10 feet by 8 feet. The windows of the mair building,!! feet coloured glass. The material was given by the Sash and" Door Co., the labour paid for by the employees. The builder's contract was £101, and extras £9. An entertainment took place on Friday, the 27th ulto., for the purpose of raising a small amount of money to pay the balance due to contractors. Tickets were issued to admit to concert at 2s 6d each, and to admit to concert and ball, 5s each. Seats were furnished for 350 persons, which were all occupied. It was the largest gathering of Europeans on the Wairoa. The hall was splendidly decorated, and lit up by four chandeliers. The concert was under the conductorship of Mr Higgs, and was quite a success, reflecting great credit upon those who took part in it, especially Mr Gooch, who so ably presided at the piano, and other lady singers. At 10 o'clock dancing commenced, when the hall was literally crowded, not less than sixty couples occupying the floor. It seemed a problem where all the people came from (showing what progress the Wairoa has made) … The hall is to be opened for religious services to ministers of any denomination.
In late August, the Aratapu Quadrille Assembly held an invitation ball. A piano was loaned by mill manager Edward Henry Stehr and played on the new stage included in the hall’s construction; more than 200 people attended the event.
In September the Union Sash and Door Company issued shares. It was noted the company had mills at Mechanics Bay, Tairua and Aratapu with almost 1,000 employees on its payroll. In October, the mill employees held a ball for Stehr and his wife on their departure from Aratapu. Aratapu as a community was continuing to grow during 1878, the mill had advertised for a saw sharpener and several labourers, and bootmakers were advertised to fulfil a growing community’s needs. At the same time, other trades such as boat building had also come to the settlement, James Barbour being one of them. In the same year, a boarding house had also been built and was put up for lease.
In a letter to the editor of the Auckland Star in March 1879, the writer, under the nom de plume Sawdust, emphasised the community pride taken in the public library building and the public hall … Its hall and library rooms are the best north of Auckland, and as much may be said of its library. It also claims to be the Paris of the Wairoa, famed for its display and assemblages for pleasure …
Fires were a constant hazard in Aratapu with that in mind, the millworkers formed a fire brigade in early September 1879. JK Smith was elected as captain of the brigade. By early 1880, Aratapu boasted a cricket club, debating club and athletics club; recreational activities were now a regular part of the community. Church services were held in the public hall from the time it was constructed in 1877.
In October 1880, the Aratapu Choral Society conducted by John Chadwick held its first performance in the hall.
… The Public Hall was crowded with visitors from all parts of the river, upwards of £16 being the gross result of the performance …
In the same month, an anniversary soiree was held by the settlers at the hall. In mid-March 1881, a soiree was held to raise funds towards building a new Anglican church at the settlement.
By June 1881, Aratapu as a township had made significant steps; new buildings included the Cosmopolitan Hotel, run by M O'Connor and a new hall constructed by John Chadwick, opened in the previous month – it included a skating rink.
In November a farewell function was held at the hall by the millworkers for the departing manager Richard Monk. An illuminated manuscript signed by 100 of the workers was presented along with a copy of Chambers’s Encyclopaedia. In January 1882, the Crown Lands Board held a sale of village sections in the Aratapu hall. The Aratapu Dramatic Club during May gave two successful performances of Our Boys, a comedy by British playwright Henry James Byron. July saw the Aratapu Saw Mills workers gather at the public hall to consider joining the newly-formed trade union organisation the United Mill and Bush Union. The main objective of the union was to promote the eight-hour working day.
In late August 1882, a community meeting was also called to come up with solutions in case an outbreak of fire occurred in the sawmill and its surrounding area. Chaired by mill manager Mr EC Carr it was resolved to form a new fire brigade to combat any fire risks in the mill and its settlement.
During December activity in the hall was robust. A new Anglican church had been opened at the settlement and with it, a church bazaar had been planned. Bishop Cowie attended the event describing it as ‘one of the prettiest he had ever seen, and in every way a credit to the energy of the people of Aratapu’.
In March 1884 the mill manager EC Carr was farewelled at a function held for him by the millworkers and residents in the hall.48In September 1884, a public meeting was held with Italian horticulturist Giovanni Battista Federli on the subject of establishing the subtropical fruit industry in the area.
… In the evening I addressed a crowded meeting at Aratapu. The subject of my lecture was the introduction of sub-tropical industries, and my remarks seemed to be much appreciated. The proceedings were reported by the local journals. At the close of the meeting the following resolution was adopted : — That in the opinion of this meeting, efforts should be made to obtain the assistance of the Government in any bona fide undertaking to introduce the cultivation and manufacture of such sub-tropical products as this part of the colony is specially fitted for, and that the Chairman be requested to communicate the foregoing resolution to the Hon. the Minister for Lands …
February 1885 saw the annual general meeting of the Aratapu Public Hall Committee go on with business despite a small gathering of fewer than 12 members of the community attending.
In April 1886 Bishop Cowie gave a lecture on India and Burma to a packed audience. In July the Orange Society held a successful ball and concert. In September the Band of Hope Worker’s ball had an attendance of 200 - it was noted the hall only had a capacity for 70 for balls. During November, Yorkshire-based evangelist and temperance reformer Mathew Burnett addressed an audience of 150 to persuade attendees to give up drinking.
In February 1887, the hall committee held its AGM noting that the meeting for 1886 was set aside. The hall by this time was being used less frequently. The following month the Aratapu Licensing Commissioners held a meeting; they made a resolution to shift future meetings to the Hobson County Chambers than located in Aratapu.
In 1888, the Aratapu mill was taken over by the Melbourne-based syndicate the Kauri Timber Company. It was one of many milling sites taken over nationwide. By December 1889, two new mills had been put in and the old one upgraded, ready for use. Old houses had been demolished and replaced with new ones. The company also built a new store, while attracting new businesses into the now regenerating township. However, the kauri and other timber were a finite resource, with a limited supply, the Kauri Timber Company decided to close down operations at the Aratapu mills while keeping the Te Kopuru site working. A decision was made in 1906 to close the Aratapu mill site down permanently.
References: Auckland Star, New Zealand Herald, Digital New Zealand (a summary is available on request including source citations)
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