A water wheel named Minnie

 

There's all kinds of heritage connected with European settlement history in Otago, which tells the story of how and entire region and then some became part of the food basket for the rest of the country. It starts with agriculture of course and the clearing of entire tracts of native vegetation with it. I've read elsewhere there's 'no Māori history' for Oamaru. I fail to see how, since my tupuna (ancestors) named the area and that in itself is history also called whakapapa. 

Back to this huge water wheel we took a look at recently. Its name is Minnie and it was installed in 1878 for the Phoenix flour mill to replace a smaller wheel to increase production output. It's listed with Heritage New Zealand as a Category 2 Historic Place Reg: 2313.

The Heritage New Zealand summary notes: 'The first industry on this site was John Hunt’s flax mill. The mill was powered by a 28 foot [8.5 metres] overshot water wheel. Flax milling was an important industry in the 1860s, with over 300 flax mills established by the early 1870s. The flax mill was destroyed by a flood in 1870 – the waters destroying Hunt’s dam and plant. Hunt sold off his mill gear – the wheel, flax machines, scutcher and press.' (Bauchop, H: 2015: Phoenix Flour Mill Water Wheel (former): Heritage New Zealand)

Wyndham and District Historical Museum: Possibly McRae Bros. mill at Mokoreta

Of course, for me, that's not enough detail where the former flax mill is concerned: so I went looking after pulling the prior title before the one listed for 1915. It's something I learned thanks to Lisa from Timespanner. Check out her blog here and Facebook page here. The one photographed above is most likely in Mokoreta in Southland in the Catlins region and powered by steam. 

It turns out that it wasn't just John Hunt who initially had the flax mill. From what I can find so far the operation began around late-November 1869, give or take a few months and possibly it was earlier but no details on that can be located. John Hunt formed a partnership with Joseph Hambleton and between them started the flax milling venture. According to a report from the North Otago Times (14 December 1869, p2), the pair were 'among the pioneers of flax manufacture in this district'. 

The article continues: 'Passing through a neat white gate into Mr Hunt's farm he will descend a winding path between oats and wheat, waving green and promising, and will presently come to the main branch of the Oamaru Creek, which here flows through a gully opening out into a flat of about an acre in extent. Here, the sound of falling water and the steady splashing of a wheel will attract his attention to a shed, beside which the said wheel is turning with a steady, monotonous regularity, while, under its protection, a hum and a clatter tells that some manufacture or busy industry is going on. 

Turning his attention thitherward — and ere he can get there he will have to pass between lines of wires attatched upon poles and covered with large quantities of straw-coloured fibre — he will find that the noise proceeds from a flax-mill driven by the said wheel — will see whirring wheels and a neat little machine into which a man is busily introducing, one by one, the leaves of the common but now-celebrated New Zealand flax while a lad, crouching down by the revolving screw, draws forth almost simultaneously hanks of greenish-white fibre. 

Close by is a large square tank, through which a race, diverted from the creek, runs, and wherein the said hanks of fibre are plunged, and freed from gummy and foreign matter, thence being carried away and hung out on the wires referred to; or spread out upon the stony banks of the creek to dry.  

The machine used is one after the patent of Manning, Auckland — manufactured by Wilson, of Dunedin, the motive-power being supplied by the water-wheel referred to. The wheel in an overshot, and exorts a force of upwards of four horse-power — indeed much of the Manning machine requires fully four-horse driving-power. The water is brought by a race from the Oamaru Creek, a distance of about eight chains (161m), and a stone dam has been built, up the gully, so as to increase the fall. The water finds its way from the wheel to a small reed-fringed lagoon, and thence careers away between the hills on its way to Oamaru. 

The number of hands required for a single machine are two men and three boys; viz , one man to cut the flax and one to feed the machine, and one boy to take away the fibre as it falls, one to carry to the trough and dip, and one to take away and spread out to dry. The wages paid are about £10 per week, and the quantity of fibre manufactured for the same period averages 24 cwt. Taking this at the low value of £20 per ton, it will be soon that a very handsome profit should be realised. 

The fibre has to remain about an hour in the bath (through which there is a constant stream of water) before being spread out, and has to remain on the wires, when laid out to dry, from 10 to 14 days, according to the state of the atmosphere. It is necessary to plunge the fibre in the bath immediately it leaves the machine, or otherwise it becomes stained by the juice which the water washes away. 

It is well-known that there are many varieties of the native flax, some of which are far superior to others. Mr Hunt informs us that he finds those kinds which have a strong upright leaf of a dark green colour to be far superior in regards their fibre to those of a pale-green hue with drooping leaves. The variegated flax is uselesss, as it contains a dye which stains the fibre with a dull red hue. 

The firm has now about 30 cwt of flax prepared, having started only about a week ago, and are the sanguine of success ... as now the works are erected, there is no cost for fuel or motive power, they ought to be able to make the manufacture pay, if anyone can ... We are glad to to learn that Messrs Hambleton and Hunt intend to plant flax, to ensure a large and permanent supply of material.'

From further investigations, it appears the site had a total of four water wheels and not just three as the HNZ summary states. It happens, oversight on things when the main focus is the existing object not its predecessors; however a background investigation further in-depth does bring more clarity to the story behind this beautifully made 1878 water wheel.

The first wheel on the site had a low-powered output from the article above. By March 1870 the partnership had plans in place to have a larger wheel manufactured: 

'Messrs Hambleton and Hunt are also about to make extensive improvements. They have, we understand, forwarded to Dunedin upwards of twenty tons of dressed fibre and contemplate greatly increasing their means of production by building a large overshot wheel of 28 feet diameter.' (Southland Times, 22 March 1870, p2)

Later that year in May 1870, severe flooding hit the district and with it most of the flax milling support network. 

'The mill-dam of Messrs Hambledon and Hunt's flax-works, higher up the [Oamaru] creek, had been destroyed (the dam cost £30 a short time ago), and it remains now to be added, that on Thursday, a number of bales of flax containing in all about a ton and a half, a barrel of tar, a quantity of tools, and about 260 feet of box fluming were carried away — the latter in consequence of a small bridge erected some distance above by Mr Hunt senr., coming down the stream, and sweeping everything before it. Messrs Hambledon and Hunt estimate their loss at £100.' (North Otago Times, 27 May 1870, p6)

North Otago Times, 28 June 1870, p5 advertisements

The following month the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent and John Hunt assumed control over the business. In the same year Hunt advertised himself as Oamaru Flax Mills and offered flax products as late as December 1870.

North Otago Times, 20 December 1870, p4 advertisements col. 1

By 1871, however, Hunt had all but set aside his flax milling enterprise, which due to the distance of sourcing flax had proven to be unprofitable, rather than the damage done by the flood. He had sold off the 28ft millwheel and the rest of the flax milling equipment. He then undertook a partnership with general merchants and shipowners John Johnson Spence and James Grave trading as Spence and Grave to built a new flour mill in place of its predecessor the flax mill.

Construction was completed in May 1871, and the Otago Witness (27 May 1871, p2) reported:

'Messrs Spence and Grace, in conjunction with Mr J Hunt, are about completing a mill on the Oamaru Creek, about one mile up the valley in which that creek runs.The water-wheel is 30 feet in diameter, 4 feet broad, and is a three-quarter breast wheel. There will be at present two pairs of stones, for which there appears to be ample power. A large dam is erected some distance above the mill, and a race, three quarters of a mile long — partly cut in the hill side, and partly flumed — has been constructed to convey the motive power. A second race at a lower level will come in at the breast of the wheel, and will use the overflow water. Except in very dry seasons there will be an ample supply of water, and there is a good fall for the tail water. This mill, although a little removed from the town, will have a great advantage in the cheapness of its power, and if kept running constantly, will have a producing power of 2,000 tons of flour in the year.'

Phoenix Flour Mill, Old Mill Road, Oamaru 1899
Collection of the Waitaki Archive. Id 100337

The North Otago Times (16 May 1871, p2) reporter had the opportunity to visit the site after it was opened in May that year. 

'The present mill is erected upon the site recently occupied by Mr Hunt's flax-mill, and covers an area of 36ft. by 20ft. It is a two-storeyed timber building, and, though of rather small proportions, very complete in detail. Mr M. Grenfell was the architect, and Mr P. Mouritz the contracter for the carpenter work, the machinery, designed by Mr Jeffries, being from the works of Messrs Reid and Gray. The motive power is supplied by a 3ft. 6in. breast, and three-quarter breast wheel of 30ft. diameter, of excellent workmanship. This wheel is the largest — or largest but one — in the Province, and has been built in a manner which speaks volumes for the capabilities of our local machinists. Two races have been brought in, the upper race, which is 10ft. above the lower, being half a mile, and the lower quarter of a mile in length, two bluestone dams having been erected across the creek at those distances from the mill respectively; the two containing thirty hours water.

'At present, but one pair of stones has been fitted up, though there is abundant power for a second pair which will shortly be added. The erection of the building was begun about two months ago, and the mill is now in full work. The stones are 4ft. 6in. in diameter and are from the works of Messrs Bryan Corcoran & Co., London. The grain which is taken in from the drays on the ground floor, is emptied from the bags into a hopper, whence it descends to a "smutter" in the basement. The dust and light stuff being driven out by an exhaust fan, the grain thus cleaned, is carried by elevators to the upper storey and passes down a shoot into a wire separator (Ransome and Sims' patent), a blast from a fan, working 825 revolutions a minute, playing upon the grain, and driving the refuse through a shoot to the exterior of the building. 

'From the separator, the grain falls into a hopper of about 50 bushels capacity, and passes thence into the stones, where it is ground into meal, the meal descending, quite hot from the friction, through a shoot, whence it is conveyed by a spiral "creeper" along an open trough 10ft. in length, cooling as it passes, to the elevators. These take it again to the upper storey and convey it to the suks, by which the bran, sharps, and fine flour are separated, and pass through different shoots to the bagging apparatus on the ground floor.'

Phoenix Mill c.1870s note the miller's house on the ridge above the mill house
Collection of the Waitaki Archive. Id 101515

By 1872, Spence and Grave had taken over the running of the mill with George Bruce at some point replacing Hunt as the miller; he was noted as being present in 1875 (Oamaru Mail, 21 November 1876, p2). In October of the same year, an unknown party opened the flood gates on the mill dam on a Sunday night in alleged attempt to destroy the milling machinery within the millhouse. The miller (unnamed) had secured the millstones the night before the event happened but the building itself had ended up severely flooded and flour ruined. The partnership offered a reward to whoever caught the culprit (North Otago Times, 29 October 1872, p2). In December 1872, John Johnson Spence sold out his interest to James McIntosh of Oamaru and the company was renamed Graves and McIntosh (North Otago Times, 6 December 1872, p3).

By May 1876, the mill had been taken over by Lewis Morton and George Bruce, with Bruce being the miller on-site. Tenders were advertised by George Bruce for cutting a water race to the mill site (North Otago Times, 25 May 1876, p3 advertisements col.4). It appears that while the Heritage New Zealand summary from 2015 states that architect James Johnston advertised for tenders in June 1876, and indeed that was the case and had commissioned by James Grave.

Advertisement for tenders for the construction and installation of the water wheel later named Minnie: North Otago Times, 22 June 1876, p3 advertisements col.3

However, it wasn't until September 1878 that the mill wheel was installed and christened with the name Minnie. The North Otago Times (17 September 1878, p2) reported the event in detail.

"On Friday afternoon the ceremony of christening the wheel of the Phoenix mill took place, in the presence of the proprietor, Mr L Morton, and a number of the workmen. The wheel, which was built by Messrs Jack, Steel, and Hendry, of this town, is one of the largest in the colony, measuring 106ft 10in in circumference, and 34ft in inside diameter, with a breadth of 4ft. It has 84 water buckets, with a shrouding 10in deep of cast iron. The shaft, which is 5in. in diameter, was forged at the Dock Forge, Port Chalmers. The arms are of 5 x 4 Oregon, and are 24 in number, and the braces of the same timber and like dimensions, the buckets and solo being of No. 10 guage wrought iron. The driving wheel is 19ft. in diameter, 6in. broad, and has 282 cogs. Massive as the wheel is, it has been so well fitted up that it runs as smoothly, and seems to turn as easily as if the merest toy, instead of the motive power of machinery capable of driving four pairs of stones. A well-aimed bottle of the sparkling having scattered its contents over this Titan among wheels, as it commenced to revolve, it was named the Minnie. On the following aftornoon quite a jolly party, consisting of Messrs Jack, Steel and Hendry, and over twenty of their workmen, with other friends, assembled, at the kind invitation ot Mr L Morton, at the Shamrock Hotel, to quaff bumpers of champagne to the success of the new wheel. On all hands it was admitted to be a splendid piece of workmanship, and congratulations were expressed at the proof afforded thereby of the skill and efficiency of our local machinists.' 

In 1880, the site was put up for auction with six acres of freehold land, outbuildings, the mill in working order and a four-roomed cottage (Oamaru Mail, 12 October 1880, p3). A new certificate of title was issued OT56/100 in the name of the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Agency Company of 25 acres 2 roods. The leases for the Phoenix mill to Spence & Graves are noted from 1872 and then in 1874 a further lease for the mill site to Spence & McIntosh. The Crown Grant for the site was issued in 1864 to David Hutchinson.

Advert by George Bruce for gristing North Otago Times, 30 August 1882, p3

It appears around 1881, George Bruce was continuing on his own account for milling at the site under Goerge Bruce & Co (Oamaru Mail, 20 May 1881, p2); however the HNZ summary states he operated on his own account from 1886 onwards. The advert above states: 'The undersigned having taken the above mill ...' indicating possibly Bruce was indeed operating the mill on his own account. The owners, the NZ Loan & Mercantile Agency Company, granted a five-year lease of the mill site backdated to March 1 1881 to Andrew Bruce, which now clarifies 'when' he was operating on his own account at the site: five years earlier than indicated in regard to the HNZ year 1886.

In 1887, a new title was issued OT83/122 after the NZ Loan & Mercantile agency subdivided the land down to just over nine acres, which included the mill, races and other buildings for the Phoenix Flour Mill site as shown on the below survey plan from 1887 DP739.

DP739 showing the mill, race and house along with the Oamaru Creek

By 1903, the mill stones had been replaced with rollers and the mill was known as the Phoenix Roller Mill. Bruce had several advertisements in 1903, advertising for gristing services as Phoenix Roller Mill. In 1904, he passed away. It was noted in his death notice he had been born in Caithness, Scotland (Oamaru Mail, 13 January 1904, p2). 

The property was sold in 1910 to brothers Alexander and Allan Clark who were based at Maheno (OT83/122).

'The Phoenix Flour Mill, situated between Ardgowan and Chelmer Street, has been purchased by Messrs Clark Bros., of Maheno. The mill is driven by water power, and in the late Mr George Bruce's time was transformed from a stone into a roller mill' (North Otago Times, 14 January 1910, p2).

The Clark brothers dismantled the mill house and the equipment then took it to Maheno where it was used in another mill probably around the same year. They sold the site to John Rooney, who's family later transferred the property to the Oamaru Borough Council in 1961.

Minnie was restored after being removed from the site by the Phoenix Mill Restoration Trust. It returned in 2018 to its original site. You can read more about that here.