Newspaper Article 1998 – Freezing works now stately guest home

Freezing works now stately guest home

by Carmen Wilson

Nestled in the bushes off State Highway two is Hawthorne Country House. But it has not always been there.

It used to be the site of the Borthwicks Freezing Works until 1931 when the works were demolished by the earthquake.

February 3, 1931 was a normal day at the freezing works. It had started taking stock in for killing and the men working on the slaughter boards were hard at work when walls buckled and machines fell to the floor. The works were in ruins in minutes.

The number of injuries were small due to the fact that most of the workers were on smoko.

One man died and three bodies were found in the rubble.

The company’s insurance did not cover earthquake risk and it cost Borthwicks 55,000 pounds. Most of the staff were moved to Masterton. Work continued for Borthwicks at the Hawke’s Bay Farmers Meat Company at Whakatu until it closed in 1986.

In 1967 Patrick Dingemans relocated a 395 square metre villa from Hastings to the Paki Paki site where the freezing works used to be.

At the time it was one of the largest house removals to be done in Hawke’s Bay.

Years later Jeanette and Peter Kelly fell in love with the old villa and could see the potential to turn it into a guest house. They spent 5 months refurnishing the house.

Natural wooden floors and doors were stripped back and polished. French doors lead out to the verandah in each of the five guest bedrooms. Each guestroom has an ensuite.

Jeanette said they had tried to make the house special for guests. “We do not live in the lounge or any of the public rooms. We want the guests to be able to relax and enjoy themselves.”

A lot of the guests were corporate clients who wanted to be close to town, but still enjoy a country environment. Guests can enjoy a cooked breakfast in the garden under the large trees which surround the property.

Even though the freezing works are long gone, relics can still be seen in the garden.

Photo caption – From a successful meatworks in the 1920s to devastation in the 1931 earthquake. Now on the land that used to house the Borthwicks Freezing Works, there is a stately guest home renovated in July 1996