Newspaper Article – Brewery Founder’s House in Hastings Being Pulled Down

Brewery Founder’s House in Hastings Being Pulled Down

A two-storey house associated with the founder of the Hastings brewery, the late Mr E. Newbigin, is being dismantled in readiness for removal, to make room for a £100,000 building programme at the Leopard Brewery.

The house is situated at the corner of Hastings and St.Aubyn Streets.

Temporarily it will be rolled to the corner of the section to allow the builders to proceed with the brewery extensions. Later it will be shifted to its new site.

The house was formerly occupied by Mr. E. Newbigin who came to New Zealand as a young man. He was first employed as brewer at the Swan Brewery, Napier, and after some years he decided to enter business on his own account in Hastings. He gave it the name of Burton’s Brewery, and this was later changed to Leopard Brewery.

Mr. D.H. Newbigin some years ago succeeded his father as owner and manager of the brewery which he sold in 1956 to a New Zealand-registered company sponsored by Fraser and Neave Ltd., and Malayan Breweries Ltd., both of Singapore.

The building work now begun at the Leopard Brewery is the first step in the building programme.

The first stage will be the construction of new refrigerated storage cellar buildings, fronting St. Aubyn Street. The cellars will be built of insulated, reinforced concrete.

Later a new engine-room will be built. The rest of the work will consist of modernisation of the existing buildings and plant, to increase production.

The whole of the building programme is expected to take about one year.

Photo caption – A BIG SHIFT.- This two storey house in Hastings is on the move to a new site. Situated on the corner of St. Aubyn and Hastings Streets, it is being moved to make way for the building programme of the Leopard Brewery, and is to be converted to flats.