Tuck Brothers Limited Taupo
TUCK BROS. LTD., Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co. Ltd.
John Thomas Tuck (JT) and his son Stanley Palmer Tuck (Stan) about 1939-40 purchased industrial sections in Taupo for a future retail timber yard and joinery factory. They accrued 40 acres (16.8 hectares) of reasonably flat land bordering Totara Street, Spa Road, Golflinks Road (later renamed Tauhara Road), Taharepa Road and Rifle Range road. Taupo in the late 1930s and early 1940s was still very much a trout fishing tourist town with large plantings of exotic radiata pine forests growing nearby.
On this Taupo property sometime in 1940, Stan built a house on a section facing Golflinks Road.
After World War II, in November/December 1945 Stan met local builders to get their views on Tuck Bros. opening a retail timber yard in Taupo. The response was very encouraging.
This would be Taupo’s first retail timber yard. Stan met with JT to get his opinion about the eventual opening of a timber retail yard and joinery factory on their Taupo industrial land and also about relocating the Oruanui sawmill’s planer and engineering workshop machines to the Taupo site. JT agreed in principal but requested they wait for Jack’s involvement .Jack was soon to be released from army war service. Since December 1945 JT, his wife, and wife’s friend, had been living in Stan’s vacant Taupo house (on the industrial site, which JT had named the “The Pines” on account of large pine trees growing nearby), while their Taupo retirement home was being built in Horomatangi Street.
In January 1946, Stan with shareholders’ approval and an agreed company name, Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co. Ltd., (Tauhara because of the fine view of Mount Tauhara) soon had a timber yard open for business under the management of Jack Miles. The Oruanui machinery was transported to the site, the planer installed with a Ruston Hornsby 65 hp diesel engine to drive the planer, generate electricity and power a future joinery factory (Taupo had no municipal electric power supply in those days). The future joinery factory was to be an addition to the planer shed. From Oruanui also came a 4-wheel tractor and skips (tractor trailers) for the timber yard to transport timber to the planer shed and to make up client timber orders. The entrance to the timber yard came in from Golflinks Road (now called Tauhara Road). An office building was built close to the entrance and a workshop building built on the boundary facing Golflinks Road on the opposite side to the office. The joinery factory and workshop operated as subsidiary companies of Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co. Ltd. The engineering workshop (Taupo’s first) traded as Tuck Bros. Ltd., Motor and General Engineers. A workshop store was essential and carried a wide range of engineering and vehicle parts as Taupo had no parts stores. Repairs and general engineering work was carried out for Tuck Bros. companies and the general public.
In 1946, always looking to the future, Stan developed the company so that they were well prepared to supply the local builders with all of their timber requirements and also able to supply large timber orders for the construction of the Waikato hydro-dams being built in the region.
In late 1955, W. Williamson Construction Company of Christchurch won the tender to build the geothermal power-house at Wairakei. Before work could start accommodation for staff was needed. Williamson’s placed orders with Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co. Ltd., enlisting Tuck Bros. (Precut-Homes) Ltd., to design and build twenty temporary pre-cut two and three bedroomed houses, and thirty single men’s quarters, cook house, and a recreation hall to be finished within a short time-frame. Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co. Ltd., joinery factory
worked long hours to manufacture the wooden joinery for these buildings and the planer machine was kept busy working double shifts gauging framing timber and manufacturing weather boards. The geothermal building contractor then required timber for the building of the geothermal power-house and engaged the engineering workshop in a variety of work.
Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co., Ltd. was taken over by the Fletcher Timber Co., on 1st June 1960.
Soon after the take-over mysterious fires destroyed buildings and equipment that did not fit into the new owners’ operations.
Land Overview – 1950s
At this time under Stan’s leadership the 40 acre (16.8 hectares) of Tuck Bros. Ltd., industrial land in Taupo was the ‘centre point’ of their operations. The development of exotic radiata pine was a new direction for the logging, timber, and building industry in New Zealand, and to keep up with the times a new sawmill was specially designed to cut radiata pine logs.
New companies were created and grew rapidly under the umbrella of Tuck Bros. Ltd. with the radiata pine industry seeing the expansion into Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., and its further subsidiary companies: the tanilith treatment plant; the boric treatment plant; and the exotic radiata pine log export division; and Pre-cut homes factories.
Tuck Bros. Pre-cut Homes, Napier, then Taupo, utilised treated planer gauged exotic radiata pine timber, leading the way with the change to using treated framing timber, planer gauged with chamfered edges, (by using exotic pine, it was conserving the country’s native timber).
Tuck Bros. retail timber yards situated in Napier and Morrinsville also drew their exotic radiata pine timber supplies from Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill at Taupo.
This was all achieved in times when Taupo had no water or electricity municipal supplies. Tuck Bros. Ltd., had their own pumping station on the banks of the Waikato River and generated their own electricity.
On the perimeter of this site the company provided many high standard 3-bedroom staff houses.
Also on this site, Tuck Bros. Ltd., set aside an area of land for Taupo Borough Council to build their temporary Electric Power Station to house their diesel-powered generator supplying electricity to the Taupo Borough. Taupo’s municipal electricity was first switched on, on 23rd December 1952.
Michael Palmer Tuck – 20 July 2019
Edited by Stephanie Tuck
NOTE:
Tauhara Timber and Joinery Co. Ltd., changed its name to Tuck Bros. (Taupo), Ltd. on 14 August 1959
(from: New Zealand Gazettes, 1959, Volume 2, page 1208)
Tuck Bros. Ltd., 40-acre (16.8 hectares) Taupo Industrial land purchased 1941.
View Mount Tauhara, and across photo – just over from the bush line is Tarahepa [Taharepa] Road. Roads bordering the property are -Totara Street, Spa Road, Golflinks Road (later renamed Tauhara Road), Tarahepa Road, & Rifle Range Road.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., staff houses were built along Golflinks Road, Tarahepa Road and Rifle Range Road.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., land use
– about 1941 first building was a house built for Stan Tuck.
1946 Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co Ltd.,
1946 Tuck Bros. Ltd., Motor & Engineering Co.,
1951-52 Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Radiata pine sawmill specially designed to cut radiata pine.
1952 Tanalith & Boric timber treatment plants. Subsidiary of Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd.,
1957 Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Log export division. Subsidiary of Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., 1954 Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd.,
Tuck Bros. Ltd., set aside an area of land for the Taupo Borough Council to build a station to house their diesel-powered generator supplying electricity to the Taupo Borough.
Taupo’s electricity was first switched on, on 23rd December 1952.
Tuck Bros Ltd, – 1946-1960. Tauhara Road, Taupo. – 40 acre (16.187 hectare) industrial site.
(Photo 23rd April 1963 – 3 years ownership by Fletcher Timber Co, two major fires)
Former Tuck Bros Ltd.
Taupo site
Whites Aviation Photograph: April 1963.
(1) Office.
(2) Engineering workshop
(3) Planner [Planer] shed & Joinery factory. (Note: burnt down. 1961). (3a) Pre-cut Homes factory.
(4) Retail timber yard.
(5) Tanilith [Tanalith] treatment plant (A Hickson plant).
(6) Stan Tuck built this house. 1948.: J.T. Tuck. ‘The Pines”: 1949 : Cookhouse 1951. : Staff house.
(7) Stan Tuck family, Taupo batch. 19561-1960.
(8) Taupo Borough Council’s Taupo electricity generating diesel shed. – 23rd December 1952 date, Taupo electricity switched on. (Tuck Bros to TBC rent free generator land. Tuck Bros paid a high power prices (h p rated) to help TBC with initial costs of power installation.
(9) Staff houses – Tauhara Road ; Taharepa Road : Konini Street.
(10) Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd. Radiata pine sawmill 1951-1962. (Note: burnt down. 1962)
(11) Boric treatment plant.
(12) Tuck Bros Ltd, radiata pine timber yard.
(13) Tuck Bros (Exotics) supplied radiata logs to all Taupo sawmills, from Rotokawa Forest. (Later known as Tauhara Forest).
Mount Tauhara Timber Co. (Jock. O’Neill).
Huka Sawmills (½ owned by Tuck Bros Ltd.) (Sam Woodward)
Tuck Bros – Taupo Sawmills Ltd,. Spa Road & Runanga Street.
Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd. Sawmill. Tauhara Road.
East Coast Sawmills Ltd. (Eric. Pardon).
Tuck Bros Ltd, – 1946-1960. Tauhara Road, Taupo. – 40 acre (16.187 hectare) industrial site.
(Photo 23rd April 1963 – 3 years ownership by Fletcher Timber Co, two major fires)
Former Tuck Bros Ltd.
Taupo site
Whites Aviation Photograph: April 1963.
(1) Office.
(2) Engineering workshop
(3) Planner shed & Joinery factory. (Note: burnt down. 1961). (3a) Pre-cut Homes factory.
(4) Retail timber yard.
(5) Tanilith treatment plant (A Hickson plant).
(6) Stan Tuck built this house. 1948.: J.T. Tuck. ‘The Pines”: 1949 : Cookhouse 1951. : Staff house.
(7) Stan Tuck family, Taupo batch. 19561-1960.
(8) Taupo Borough Council’s Taupo electricity generating diesel shed. – 23rd December 1952 date, Taupo electricity switched on. (Tuck Bros to TBC rent free generator land. Tuck Bros paid a high power prices (h p rated) to help TBC with initial costs of power installation.
(9) Staff houses – Tauhara Road ; Taharepa Road : Konini Street.
(10) Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd. Radiata pine sawmill 1951-1962. (Note: burnt down. 1962)
(11) Boric treatment plant.
(12) Tuck Bros Ltd, radiata pine timber yard.
(13) Tuck Bros (Exotics) supplied radiata logs to all Taupo sawmills, from Rotokawa Forest. (Later known as Tauhara Forest).
Mount Tauhara Timber Co. (Jock. O’Neill).
Huka Sawmills (½ owned by Tuck Bros Ltd.) (Sam Woodward)
Tuck Bros – Taupo Sawmills Ltd,. Spa Road & Runanga Street.
Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd. Sawmill. Tauhara Road.
East Coast Sawmills Ltd. (Eric. Pardon).
Tuck Bros Ltd, – Taupo office. To the right of Stan Tuck’s 1949 Ford Customline car is the gate/entrance, then the engineering workshop built on the boundary facing Golf-links Road. The white car is Eric Smiths 1938 Terraplane. : Photo 1951
The Registered Office of :
Tuck Bros Ltd. Tauhara Road, Taupo.
Tauhara Timber & Joinery Ltd.
Tuck Bros Ltd. Oruanui Sawmill.
Taupo Sawmills Ltd.
Tuck Bros Pre-cut Homes Ltd.
Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd. Sawmill.
Tuck Bros Log Export Ltd.
Tuck Bros Ltd, Taupo office. View from Golf-links Road. (near Spa Road corner). Golf-links Road later renamed Tauhara Road. (Facing towards Mount Tauhara). Photo 1951. Note : Square concrete box – the office safe, end of building.
OF INTEREST:
White car – 1938 TERRAPLANE built only between 1933-1938. by Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan, USA. The great depression forced the closure of Terraplane models.
Owned by Eric Holmes Smith, Manager, Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo branch. :Photo 1951.
Other car – 1949 Ford Custom V/8 cylinder. Tuck Bros. Ltd, Managing Director, Stanley Palmer Tuck.
Eric Holmes Smith, General Manager Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Photo : Stan Tuck’s, Avenue Road, Greenmeadows home. 14th Nov 1949.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Executive meeting, Terraces Hotel, Taupo. 16/17th July 1949.
POSITION ON PHOTO B/R or F/R & NO. FROM LEFT PERSON POSITION COMPANY COMMENT & LOCATION
B/R1 ROY ANDERSON-BAK Engineer/manager TUCK BROS. AUTOMOTIVE & GENRL [GENERAL] ENGINEERING TAUPO
B/R2 KEITH TUCK PLANER MACHINIST TAUHARA TIMBER & JOINERY LTD TAUPO
B/R3 JACK MILES MANAGER TAUHARA TIMBER & JOINERY LTD TAUPO
B/R4 JOHN YOUNG CHIEF ACCOUNTANT TUCK BROS COMPANIES
B/R5 BEN TUCK MANAGER TUCK BROS. LTD ORUANUI ORUANUI
B/R6 WALLY LEITCH Chartered Public Accountant COMPANY SECRETARY & DIRECTOR ALL COMPANIES ORUANUI MORRINSVILLE TAUPO TATARAAKINA NAPIER
B/R7 JACK TUCK (John Manson TUCK) DIRECTOR TUCK BROS SAWMILL ORUANUI MORRINSVILLE JOINERY CO. Canada St. MORRINSVILLE
B/R8 STAN TUCK (Stanley Palmer TUCK) DIRECTOR ALL COMPANIES TAUPO, TATARAAKINA, NAPIER
F/R9 ANDY WALLACE JOINERY MANAGER TAUHARA TIMBER & JOINERY LTD TAUPO
F/R10 RON CARTER JOINERY MANAGER MORRINSVILLE JOINERY CO. MORRINSVILLE
F/R11 ERIC SMITH MANAGER TUCK CONSTRUCTION TAUPO
MANAGER TUCK CONSTRUCTION TATARA-AKINA
TATARA-AKINA MILL 1948 ALL COMPANIES TAUPO
GENERAL MANAGER 1949 TAUPO TAUPO
G.MGR ALL COMPANIES 1959
F/R12 CHARLIE EVANS OPERATIONS MANAGER TUCK BROS. ORUANUI
TATARA-AKINA TIMBER CO. TATARA-AKINA
F/R13 M. ROBERTSON ACCOUNTANT MORRINSVILLE JOINERY CO. MORRINSVILLE
F/R14 BILL BAKER TIMBER YARD MANAGER MORRINSVILLE JOINERY CO MORRINSVILLE
Tuck Bros. Taupo-Tauhara Timber & Joinery Ltd.- Staff, joinery factory & planner [planer] shed.
Back left-Unknown: Rusty Lang (Planner [Planer] machinist); Tim O’Brian: Unknown: ? Ramaka.
Front – Ernie Glass (Joinery Foreman) : ? Reid : Unknown. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Taupo, Tauhara Timber & Joinery Ltd, Tuck Bros Workshop Timber Yard, Office staff. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd,-Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co Ltd, Planer shed right, joinery factory left. End of building, wooden water tank (three panels) water for cooling Ruston Bucyrus diesel engine supplying pully [pulley]/belt power to the planer and large joinery machines and generating electric power for all other company buildings including electric office machines, and lighting. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co Ltd, Timber retail yard.
Tauhara Road behind the trees, Main gate entrance behind truck. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Taupo – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Ltd,
Joinery factory staff. Left. – ? Reid : Tim O’Brien : Unknown : Unknown :
In front. – Ernie Glass, (Factory Foreman) : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Taupo – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Ltd, Timber retail yard staff.
Jack Myles (Head Yardman) Unknown : Graham Galbraith. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co Ltd, planer shed re-cut saw. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co Ltd, Haigh planer and shavings fluming. Note: overhead shaft and belt driven pully [pulley] system to power planer from the Ruston Bucyrus diesel engine that supplied power to all the large machines and electric power to the smaller machinery and lighting. Photo 1951.
The Haigh planer often worked double shift 7am to 10pm supplying planer gauged Timber for building the geothermal power plant at Wairakei.
1480
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo branch – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Co, Ltd, used a World War II surplus Willys Jeep. Ford (GPW) manufactured – as a tractor to tow trailer loads of timber, feeding the planer and joinery factory. This jeep had a hard life, gave excellent service from early 1946 to 1952 when replaced by a Canadian ‘Bullmoose’ forklift.
World War II Willys Jeep. Ford (GPW) manufactured 1941-1945. 60hp. 4×4.
Transmission : 3 speed x 2 range transfer box. Suspension: Live axles on leaf springs.
Ford (GPW) built 277,896. : Willys (MB) built 359,489.
Willys MB
Type ¼ ton (227kg)(a) 4×4 utility truck
Place of origin United States
Production history
Manufacturer Willys-Overland (MB)
Ford Motor Co. (GPW)
Number built MB: 359,489
GPW : 277,896
Specifications (MB and GPW same (1)
Weight 2,453 lb (1,113 kg) empty
Length 132 ¼ in (3.36 m)
Width 62 in (1.57 m)
Height 69 ¾ in (1.77 m)(b)
Engine Willys Go Devil Engine
Transmission 3 spd. X 2 range trf. Case
Suspension Live axles on leaf springs
Fuel capacity 15 US gal (57 l)
Operational range 300 mi (482.8 km)
Speed 65mph (105 km/h)
Tuck Bros NZ Gazette, 1959, vol 2 pg1208.jpg
CHANGE OF NAME OF COMPANY
NOTICE is hereby given that “Tauhara Timber and Joinery Co. Ltd.” has changed its name to “Tuck Bros. (Taupo) Ltd.”, and that the new name was this day entered on my Register of Companies in place of the former name.
Dated at Napier this 14th day of August 1959.
1094 G. JANISCH, Assistant Registrar of Companies.
Attachments:
Tuck Bros NZ Gazette, 1959, vol 2 pg1208.jpg 101 KB
TUCK CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD
Tuck Construction Co., Ltd., was registered on 25th February 1948. Shareholders were Stanley Palmer Tuck (Stan), and Ida Margaret Tuck. Eric Holmes Smith was made a director in January 1950. The company was founded as a building company. The first job undertaken by the company was to complete the buildings of Tuck Bros. new sawmill (Tataraakina Timber company) at Tarawera on the Napier-Taupo Road, and to install a water-pump station for the mills use, beside the nearby Waipunga River. Along with the pipelines, two water-tanks were built and placed at separate locations on the mill-site. The water-tanks were manufactured by Tuck Bros. Joinery Company at Taupo. Built of Totara timber they were designed to hold 3,000 gallons (13,638 litres) each. Tuck Construction Co., assembled these water tanks on top of 18-feet-high (5.5 metres) tank stands that they built.
Other sawmill buildings erected were an office with attached store-room workshop, twelve three-bedroom staff houses, twelve single men’s huts, and a single mens’ ablution building with bath, showers, and laundry facilities. Garaging for staff cars and the logging truck were also provided. Because the mill provided catering for single men on the staff, a three bedroom home was built for a resident cook and the building extended to comprise a commercial sized kitchen with woodburner/wetback stove and a dining room that seated up to 14 people (this building was moved in 1967 about ½ a mile down the road to the
Tarawera Ministry of Works Depot to be used as their cookhouse, and it is still there today.) Various smaller sawmill buildings, were also erected, a yardmens shelter; two sawdust creeper engine sheds; log skids cross-cut saw shelter; and a log skids winch shelter. As the sawmill buildings were nearing completion, carpenters started on the ten staff houses with two men starting in March 1949, building up to a team of six carpenters, one handy man, two painters, one electrician, and one plumber/drainlayer.
Eric Smith managed the day-to-day running of Tuck Construction Co., Ltd. Eric had six carpenters working in pairs on building three houses at the same time. The building materials for framework, flooring, weather boards, and window and door frames were supplied by Tuck Bros. Taupo branch and transported to the site by the company’s G.M.C. 6-wheeler truck (an American ex-war surplus truck), later to become the sawmills logging truck.
During the Christmas and New Year holiday break of 1950/51, several Tuck Construction carpenters volunteered to work and oversee the shifting of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board’s Tarawera primary school to a new more accessible location at Tuck Bros. Tarawera Sawmill. Sawmill employees and locals were also involved and the school was transported in sections on the company’s logging truck to its new location. The company supplied the school with electric power and water, and in return, the building was used for social evenings, with the company donating a film projector so that picture evenings could be held with films supplied from the NZ National Film Library. The school teacher was housed in a company house on the mill site.
Eric and Stanley Palmer Tuck had met during the Second World War. Stan was Eric’s commanding officer in the RNZAF in the Pacific Islands during World War Two. Eric was the units Warrant Officer. After the war Eric had returned to his home town of Gisborne where he had taken up the position of Building Inspector with Gisborne Council. Eric had heard that Stan (Managing Director of Tuck Bros. Ltd.,) was building a sawmill at Tarawera on the
Napier-Taupo Road and decided to pay a visit. Eric, affectionally [affectionately] known as ‘Smithy”, joined Tuck Bros. Ltd., on the 14th April 1948 at Tarawera where he was a much-valued Building Construction Manager. As the sawmill building work neared completion at Tataraakina/Tarawera, surplus staff were moved to Taupo to start on Tuck Bros. Tauhara Road 40 acre (16.8 hectare) industrial site to renovate and extend existing buildings, build new factory buildings, an office, and three three-bedroom staff houses. Some carpenters were assigned to the Morrinsville branch to build six three-bedroom staff houses for Tuck Bros. Morrinsville Timber & Joinery Co.
Tuck Construction’s policy was not to compete with the smaller building companies in Taupo. They only took on the large building jobs and in many cases were approached by large organisations to carry out work building shops in the town area of Taupo. Tuck Construction built three-bedroom staff houses, single mens’ accommodation, cookhouse, and a large workshop for the New Zealand Forest Service at lwitahi (also known as 60/8) on the Napier-Taupo Road.
Eric Smith’s brother, Martin Smith, was employed at Tuck Construction Co. as a registered electrician. With forethought the new houses and buildings were pre-wired in anticipation of connecting to the planned Taupo Municipal Power Scheme, which would eventuate in December 1952. Because there was no other electrician in Taupo, he also maintained the electric generating plants at the New Zealand tourist hotel at Wairakei, the Spa Hotel, and the Terraces Hotel, as part of his work for Tuck Bros.
Tuck Construction Co., renovated the Wairakei Hotel for the New Zealand Government back to hotel status after it had been turned into and used as a hospital/sanatorium during World War Two.
As time went on and the Taupo building industry expanded, complaints were made by the local builders that they were missing out on building work to Tuck Construction Ltd. So Tuck Bros. (the parent company) made the decision in 1954 to go back to their core business of sawmilling, retail timber sales, joinery manufacture and general engineering. A new subsidiary company was attached to the general engineering side of the business and Tuck Construction Co. Ltd. was renamed Tuck Bros. Supplies & Services Ltd. This became a spare parts and engineering store shop attached to the general engineering workshop with Eric Sutton as manager at Tauhara Road, Taupo.
Eric Smith was appointed General Manager of the parent company, Tuck Bros. Ltd., in 1953.
Michael Palmer Tuck – 28 October 2019
Edited by Stephanie Tuck
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo. Single men’s quarters built 1949 by Tuck Construction Co. Ltd.,
Situated on the company’s 40 acre (16.18 hectares) industrial site facing Golf links Road. Burnt down 1954. Photo : 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, 40 acre (16 hectare) industrial site.
Tuck Bros. Ltd. Taupo pumped water from their pump station beside the Waikato River into 3,000-gallon (13,638 litres) tanks built of Totara timber by the company’s joinery factory. Tuck Construction Co., built the pump station, tank stand, assembled the tanks and laid the ½ km 2-inch pipe line to the tanks. Water was accessible to all company buildings; staff houses and fire hydrants. Note: Mt Tauhara. Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo. – Cook house and accommodation Golf-links Road, (renamed Tauhara Road). 1941 Stan Tuck built this house for his family. About 1945 the family moved to Hamilton. Stan returned from war service and started up the Oruanui sawmill. J.T. Tuck then moved into the Taupo house calling it ‘The Pines’. On account of large pine trees near-by. He eventually had his retirement home built in Horamatangi [Horomatangi] Street, Taupo, moving out about 1947/48. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo – The first three staff houses built 1950 by Tuck Construction Co, Facing Golf-links Road, (renamed Tauhara Road). Later 20 more staff house[s] were built bordering Tauhara Road, Taharepa Road, Rifle [Range] Road. : Photo 1951.
TUCK BROS. LTD., Taupo Sawmills Ltd.
Taupo Sawmills Ltd., (TSL) was a basic designed native timber sawmill that was situated close to the Taupo township on the corner of Spa Road and Runanga Street.
The sawmill was previously owned by Auckland businessmen who were all directors. They largely relied upon their sawmill manager to advise them for the running of the sawmill. During February 1952 the principal director made it known to the manager of Tuck Bros. Ltd., that they wanted to sell. Tuck Bros. Ltd., assessed the value of the company and found the asking price way too high and their estimated native bush cutting life ridiculously excessive, but they did offer what they considered to be a fair price, arrived at from their own observations and valuation. Nothing was heard until May 1952 when several meetings took place from where a sales agreement was reached.
Tuck Bros. Ltd. chose to keep the Taupo Sawmills Ltd. company name when they took over on 30th May 1952.
Stanley Palmer Tuck (Stan), Managing Director of Tuck Bros. Ltd., and his brother John Manson Tuck (Jack), a director, both had sound reasons for purchasing Taupo Sawmills. Stan’s interest was that TSL drew its native logs from Runanga bush (which had approximately 15 years left of cutting, half the time the directors had claimed) along-side the Napier-Taupo Highway. Runanga bush was close to Tuck Bros large native sawmill, Tataraakina Timber Co., on the Napier-Taupo Road at Tarawera. This sawmill drew its logs from the Tataraakina bush that had logging roads that went deep into high-country which was subject to heavy rainfalls. If there was to be a bush-road washout then the sawmill’s log supply would be held up and Runanga bush would be a back-up.
Jack was interested in a timber supply to his Morrinsville timber and joinery company. Jack’s supply of timber from Tuck Bros. Oruanui sawmill would cease in a years’ time once the sawmill cut the last of the Oruanui bush in March 1953.
Taupo Sawmills Ltd., cut mainly native logs but at times it did cut New Zealand grown Douglas Fir logs that came from Wakeman’s plantation at Acacia Bay, Taupo (felled November 1954), and radiata pine logs from the large Rotokawa exotic forest on the Broadlands Road (between 1951-June 1960). Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd. had logging operations working in both these areas.
Taupo Sawmills Ltd., was powered by a single cylinder English built Ruston Bucyrus diesel engine (model 9XHR) 66 horse power at 265 revs per minute. The sawmill cut about 8,000 super-feet of timber per day. The logs were rolled in from the outside mill skids onto the breaking down travelling carriage. The carriage travelled past twin circular saws (usually a 6- foot main saw (1.8 metres) with a 4-foot saw (1.2 metres) above. The top saw was powered up only if there was a big log on the carriage that the 6-foot saw could not cut through, which was a two-man operation. The ‘flitches’ (a sizeable piece of timber), then passed onto the breast bench to be cut into timber boards. Three men were involved in the operation of the breast bench, a ‘Benchman’, ‘Tailer-out man’, and ‘Pin Boy’.
The ‘Benchman’, the person in charge of cutting the flitches into boards, slides the flitch along the ‘fence’ with the help of a trolley that runs on rails, using it to balance the flitch while cutting. He passes the timber through the saw to the man opposite called the ‘Tailer Out’ who receives the cut flitch, on another trolley on rails to balance the cut flitch and he flicks the sawn boards onto the docking table. The remaining flitch is pushed back via return rollers on the bench to the ‘Benchman’ to cut another board. The Benchman uses his
experience to get the most boards out of a flitch. Boards are cut to a certain thickness and the ‘Pin Boy’ receives a hand signal from the ‘Benchman’ telling him what board thickness to cut next, and he is responsible for setting the cutting gauge, by moving a steel pin inserted into the correct hole on the ‘fence’ slide.
From the Docking Table the sawn boards go to the man operating the Docking Saw (sometimes called a Goose Saw) where any rough ends are trimmed off the boards. The operator positioned a board onto the saw’s dead roller bench (the rollers are not powered) to have the ends trimmed. Timber boards were then stacked onto bearers over the trolley rail, and when the empty 4-wheeled trolley returned, the boards were then lowered onto the trolley and hand-pushed on rails back out into the timber yard. From here timber boards were stacked on skids ready for making up sale orders for timber trucks to cart and deliver.
Taupo Sawmills Ltd., was taken over by the Fletcher Timber Co., on 1st June 1960. Fletchers closed the sawmill in 1962 and sold the valuable land and the sawmill was dismantled.
Some parts like the brass whistle, a circular saw, and photographs (supplied by Michael Tuck) are held in the Taupo Museum.
Other Shareholdings and interests of Tuck Bros.:
Huka Sawmills Ltd.
In 1940 Tuck Bros. Ltd. had a 65% shareholding in Huka Sawmills Ltd.
Huka Sawmills Ltd. was built about 1938 as a native sawmill of similar size and design to Taupo Sawmills Ltd.
Shares valued at one pound each were held by Sam Woodward, the Manager, and J. Woodward. Woodward’s shares totalled: 1,267
Tuck Bros. Ltd., in 1940 held shares: J.T. Tuck = 1,116 shares. S.P. Tuck = 1,117 shares. Tuck’s shares totalled: 2,233
From 1955, as native log supplies started to dry up, Huka Sawmills Ltd., became more reliant on supplies of radiata pine logs from Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd., from their Rotokawa Forest logging operations.
Huka Sawmills Ltd., were situated close to Taupo township, on the corner of Norman Smith Street and Woodward Street, Nukuhau, close to the Waikato River control gates bridge. The sawmill closed about 1978 and the land was cleared to make way for housing.
Michael Palmer Tuck – 26 August 2019
Edited by Stephanie Tuck
Note:
The wooden floor of the mill was laid in 6×2 inch timber and the area where the ‘Benchman’ and the ‘Tailer Out’ man worked at the machine was overlaid with rough sawn 6×1 timber boards, which went in between the rails. The extra layer of timber was because they wore the floorboards out by constantly moving backwards and forwards cutting flitches. This second layer of boards had to be replaced yearly, when mill maintenance was carried out over the Christmas holiday time.
Stanley Palmer Tuck (Stan) Managing Director Tuck Bros. Ltd., (right) with Robert Dobson (public accountants Napier), Tuck Bros. Ltd., board of directors (Left) – Max Collett, Secretary, and Julius Winifred Sandtmann chairman. In Taupo finalising Tuck Bros Ltd., purchase of Taupo Sawmills Ltd., : Photo Lake Hotel May 1952.
Napier Taupo Road – Runanga area – Centre Left highway onto, Kaingaroa Plains (commonly known as Rangitaiki Plains) to Rangitaiki and Taupo. Other roads on left are Tuck Brothers bush roads to supply logs to their Taupo sawmill on the corner of Spa & Runanga Street – ‘Taupo Sawmill Ltd’, Road to right – highway starting 30 miles of steep hilly section to Napier. Note: Waipunga River and falls. Upstream, Napier Taupo Road, oneway wooden bridge crosses the river then climbes [climbs] to Pohokura (2,400 feet. 732 meters above sea level) passing McLeod & Gardner’s sawmill at Pohukura [Pohokura] (area sometimes called Old Orchards.
A major road deviation, by-passing Pohokura (the sawmill had burnt down in 1964 and not rebuilt) follows, through the Waipunga River valley, on the opposite side to old road.
The new highway opened 24th May 1972.
:Areial [Aerial] photograph. 9th February 1960.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, sawmill – Taupo Sawmills Ltd, Taupo. – Photo taken from old Napier Taupo Road looking back to old Napier Taupo Road seen approaching the Waipunga bridge before climbing this hill. Rangitaiki Plains to Taupo (upper left) – Taupo Sawmills Runanga bush, far left. – Since 1968 the 6 mile Runanga deviation now takes the Napier Taupo Road along the other side of this valley following the Waipunga River. : Photo 1956.
Photo taken from a bend on the old Napier Taupo Road looking down to the Waipunga Bridge. Other side of bridge is the road coming in off the Rangitaiki Plains from Taupo. : Photo 1956.
Native Bush from Rangitaiki Plains – Napier Taupo Road. : Photo 1956
Note : Telegraph poll [pole] – two tram tracks bolted together.
TUCK BROS. (EXOTICS) LTD.
In the 1950s New Zealand’s large North Island exotic radiata pine forests, planted mainly during the depression years, were coming into maturity. There was very little planning for their ultimate use. A battle ensued with government departments and local bodies to get exotic radiata pine accepted as a building timber and conserve our native timbers. In 1951 Tuck Bros. Ltd., (Taupo) pioneered the way by securing the cutting rights to the Australian owned Rotokawa radiata pine forest (later called Tauhara Forest), on Broadlands Road, 14 miles (22.5 kms) north-east of Taupo. This forest of 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares), was owned by Afforestation Proprietory [Proprietary] Ltd., whose head office was in Melbourne, Australia, with New Zealand operations managed by Mr. Vivian T. Fail of Taupo. Afforestation Proprietory [Proprietary] Ltd., had originally planted the forest with the intention of extracting turpentine from the pine trees.
Stanley Palmer Tuck (Stan), Managing Director of Tuck Bros. Ltd., designed and built the first New Zealand private company exotic radiata pine sawmill situated at the company’s property on Tauhara Road, Taupo. This was a new venture into sawmilling using plantation grown radiata pine (exotic) trees. This subsidiary company (of Tuck Bros. Ltd.) was registered and named Tuck Bros. (Exotics), Ltd., and commenced cutting in 1952. Sawmills had been set up to handle large-diameter native logs, such as rimu and kauri, so this new sawmill had to be specially designed to handle the smaller diameter radiata pine logs with speed and minimal man-power to produce approximately 20,000 feet of timber in an eight-hour working day with a small staff of seven, including a saw doctor, yardman and a forklift driver.
The required machinery to build a sawmill like this was used in overseas timber producing countries but at the time, strict New Zealand Government import regulations prevented purchase and importation of this machinery.
Stan, an engineer built the sawmill machinery to his design gathering some ideas from the American Lumber magazine that he subscribed to.
Stan engaged Tuck Bros. Ltd., engineering workshop staff in Taupo to build some of the machines and also machinery was built at the foundry of J.J. Niven Ahuriri, Napier.
Meanwhile on site at Taupo the foundations were laid and soon after, in early 1952, the sawmill was cutting logs out in the open while builders were finishing construction on the sawmill building.
As Taupo was about to be supplied with electricity, Stan temporarily powered the sawmill with Gardner and Lister diesel engines coupled together. On 23rd December 1952 Taupo’s municipal power was first switched on, and the sawmill was then able to switch over to electric power during the Christmas / New Year holidays of 1952-1953.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill design and operations:
Radiata pine logs were unloaded from logging trucks onto sawmill skids. The skids sloped towards the sawmill building where the logs rolled waiting to be picked up by an elevator as required and lifted one by one up into the sawmill and onto inside log skids. The skids were kept full of logs waiting to be rolled onto the breaking down high-speed (man-less) carriage which delivered a log for the bandsaw to cut into a square timber ‘flitch’. It was then kicked off onto travelling rollers to a wait bay or into the circuit where another smaller band saw would take the flitch into its circuit for cutting the flitch into boards. This circuit was nick named the ‘merry-go-round’ because there would be about five flitches of timber travelling round-and-round until, they were reduced into boards. As soon as a flitch was sawn into boards another flitch then took its place. This was how the sawmill got its high tally. The bandsaw was cutting practically all the time, one flitch after another. Boards then travelled to the docking saws where a row of electric air operated saws were triggered by an electric magic eye to select a saw to trim the ends of a board with a minimum of waste. From there they were immersed in a sap stain bath of ‘Pentachlorophenol’ then up a long-inclined table to allow the excess sap stain to drip off the boards and run back into the sap stain bath. At the top of this table a man graded the boards by directing them into one of two slots. A short drop in a slot placed a board on its edge onto a travelling belt that took the board out to timber skids where it was ejected off the belt according to its width. A yardman stacked and tallied the boards ready for a forklift to cart away. Sawdust and waste slab timber was picked up on a wide conveyor belt that travelled under the mill and onto the outside endless chain that took the waste out to a fire pit.
This fire pit was a temporary way to dispose of this waste until a future manufacturing board factory was built to utilise waste material.
Radiata pine timber graded for treatment was fillet stacked to air dry then brought in for treating.
Tanalith (a trade name), was used in varying strengths to treat timber for different uses, such as timber used in the water, in the ground, or for buildings. The treatments all required extreme pressure to pump Tanalith preservative salts into the timber, whereas the boric method for timber treatment (intended for interior use only) requires a packet of timber to be immersed in a heated tank of a boric preservative liquid.
Fletcher Timber Company wanting the cutting rights to Rotokawa radiata pine forest, took over Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., on the 1st of June 1960. Fletcher’s later bought Rotokawa Forest from Afforestation Proprietary Ltd., about 1966.
Late in 1962 a mysterious fire razed the Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill on Tauhara Road, to the ground.
Michael Palmer Tuck – 21 July 2019
Edited by Stephanie Tuck
TUCK BROS. (EXOTICS) LTD.
EXOTIC SAWMILLERS MOTOR AND GENERAL ENGINEERS
REGISTERED OFFICE
TAUHARA RD, TAUPO
PHONES
OFFICE 579K & 220
WORKSHOP 579M
P.O. BOX 172
ASSOCIATE COMPANIES:
TUCK BROS. LTD.
MORRINSVILLE JOINERY CO. LTD.
TAUHARA TIMBER & JOINERY LTD
TAUPO SAWMILLS LTD.
TUCK BROS (NAPIER) LTD.
TATARAAKINA TIMBER CO. LTD
Tuck Bros. Ltd., radiata pine sawmill – Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Tauhara Road, Taupo
View about 100 meters inside the Tauhara Road Fence line. Top story-saw-doctors workshop. Far right logs go into sawmill, timber boards come out this end to the left. From the end of the building sawdust & waste wood comes out on a conveyor belt & from a height drop into a fire pit. Buildings on right truck garage and night-watchman’s residents [residence] : Photo 1955.
Late 1949 Tuck Bros. Ltd., were planning to establish a Radiata Pine sawmill on their industrial land at Golf-Links Road, Taupo (Later renamed Tauhara Road). The company was looking for a Radiata Pine Forest near to Taupo. This letter from NZ Forest Products Ltd., is offering their Southern Tauhara Forest for sale.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., decided on the cutting rights of the 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) forest belonging to Afforestation Proprietory [Proprietary] Ltd., Melbourne. Australia. (letter from Eric Smith’s (general manager) 1950 diary. Copied 23/06/16.
COPY Rs. EWH. 28/11/49.
Extracts from a Report on Stacey’s Block prepared by the Company’s Forestry Administrator and Assistant Forest and Milling Superintendent.
On the 13th August 1949, a visit was paid to Stacey’s Block at the Secretary’s request for information on the area.
Boundaries: The northern boundary passing through the Wairango Trig is well defined by the State Forest boundary. Other boundaries are not defined and difficulty was experienced in deciding what bush was on the area owned by the Company.
Topography: Flat to easy rolling country intersected by low ridges and, on sloping portions, there are several deep narrow gullies running generally in a north-west direction. The largest portion of the area comprises flat manoao covered plains.
Soil: On the manoao flats there is pumice and in places a very fine sand overlying a hard pan of pumiceous material. On the ridges there is a cover of pumice mixed with light loam but in places this becomes a pumiceous clay.
Elevation: The highest point is the Wairango Trig, 3,150 feet, and the fall is in a general westerly direction probably to about 2,000 ft. on the western boundary.
Access. A public road runs south from the Napier-Taupo highway through State Forest. This road gives access to the Loch Inver Station and passes through Stacey’s Block. Branching from this road and running in a west to south-west direction is a logging road in good condition and now used by splitters in State Forest No. 90 adjoining Stacey’s Block. This logging and splitter’s road does not extend to the western boundary of Stacey’s Block but stops short at the small Native Area of bush recently taken over by the State Forest.
Animals. Rabbits and signs of deer were seen and it is understood pigs are often shot on Stacey’s Block.
Vegetation. The flats are covered with manoao scrub with some silver tussock round the edges and scattered throughout. On the slopes above the flats, manuka is growing, commencing some 20-30ft. above the flat level and it continues up the ridges to their tops. In many places on the ridges there are numerous other species in the manuka and these include veronica, fivefinger, black matipo, flax, broadleaf, etc. the tall tree manuka is found mostly on the western extremity of the area where it falls away from the flat but there is also some growth on the sides of the central ridge. There are two areas of bush one of which has been milled and the other near the south-western extremity of the area.
Timber. The area worked has been logged and some splitting done. There may be a small area of workable bush between these old workings and the southern boundary but the line would have to be cut open to determine this. The other tongue of bush is in the south-west corner of Stacey’s Block and adjoins the State Forest No. 90 area. The extent of this bush could not be determined and the boundary lines would have to be cut open for the purpose. Some totara seedlings were seen on the area but the bulk of the bush would be red beech. It is understood that the Forest Service are likely to cut the boundaries shortly.
COPY
Letter from N.Z., Forests Products Ltd
Ref. RGS/JT
P.O. Box 1884,
Auckland.
27th Nov. 1950.
Dear Sir,
Re TAUHARA SOUTH A (Staceys) Block
On 25/10/49 we sent you a letter advising that the Company’s Tauhara South A (Staceys) Block was for sale. We received your letters dated 7/11/49 and 28/7/50 in reply thereto, but as the Government had intimated the possibility of their purchasing the area we refrained from supplying you with the particulars requested.
We would now advise that after protracted negotiations the Government have advised us that they do not wish to secure the property. We now offer this block, the full description of which is Tauhara South A (Staceys) Block, Waitahanui, and Maruanui Survey Districts, Taupo County C.T. 450/6 comprising 18,867 acres 1 rood 6 perches, to you at the price of £6,000.
We are enclosing herewith a short summary of a report on the area by the Company’s Forestry Administrator and Assistant Forest & Milling Superintendent, together with a locality plan.
If you are still interested in purchasing this area we would be pleased to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully,
R.H. Smythe
Secretary
per R.G. Southwern.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., radiata pine sawmill – Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo.
Sawmill foundations to carry the floor above ground level under construction. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., radiata pine sawmill – Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo.
Foundation construction. Note. Mount Tauhara in background. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., radiata pine sawmill – Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo.
Sawmill under construction. On the floor under tarpaulin cover Edger machine in position. (Front) docking saws conveyor ready to position. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. Ltd., radiata pine sawmill – Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo
Timber sap stain bath under construction. (to right) docking saw frame constructed above the conveyor. : Photo 1951.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – sawmill skids. GMC 6-wheeler logging truck unloading radiata pine logs from Rotokawa forest in readiness for the new sawmill to start cutting timber. Note: (lower left) log elevator. Photo 1952.
Of interest: This GMC 6-wheeler logging truck belonged to logging contractor Cedric Burkett (from Taradale HB) had the chassis lengthened so as to cart radiata pine logs with-out having to use a trailer. This truck was fitted with a front bumper winch.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – Pinus Radiata logs on sawmill skids ready for elevator to lift into sawmill. : Photo 1952.
NOTE : A building frame laying on ground ready to lift upright.
Stan Tuck always built his sawmills to cut timber first, then the building. With a large building staff this all happened rapidly.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – Radiata Pine logs lifted onto sawmill deck. NOTE : (right) timber building frame ready for standing upright onto concrete ring wall foundations. : Photo 1952.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – Pacific carriage controls and 6 foot (1.8) inserted chisel tooth saw (each tooth removable from saw blade).
Stan Tuck (Managing director Tuck Bros Ltd)
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – Stan Tuck testing Pacific carriage. Left – a sawn log on the carriage. : Photo 1952.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill, Taupo. Side building – temporary housing two diesel motors driving the sawmill. Taupo about to get electricity. Electric motors later installed. Diesel fuel drums in foreground. : Photo 1952.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill, Taupo. Building over the sawmill nearing completion. Was built over the working sawmill. (Mid left) Conveyor taking dust and slab wood to fire pit. (Far side) sawn timber travelling to timber yard after passing through sap stain bath. (Left) Eric Smith (had been a builder) now Tuck Bros Ltd., general manager, putting in a few hours at building site. Head accountant Frank Sidaway, no-doubt discuss[ing] some business matter. Little fellow (far right) one of the Tuck children.: Photo 1952. Note: Mount Tauhara (mid left).
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – Log turning machine to operate with the pacific carriage. Designed by Stan Tuck and built at J.J. Niven Foundry, Ahuriri Napier. 1953. This successful fast air operated machine positioned and turned logs for the pacific carriage.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., sawmill, Taupo. – Log turning and positioning machine.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. – 1951 secured the harvesting rights to the Australian owned Rotokawa Forest, Broadlands Road Taupo. – Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd, in late 1951 opened a new sawmill designed to cut Radiata Pine logs from Rotokawa Forest. Logging commenced and supplies went to the companies [company’s] two Taupo sawmills- Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd, and Tuck Bros,- Taupo Sawmills Ltd,
Later logs were supplied to other sawmills – East Coast Sawmills Ltd,: Mount Tauhara Sawmills Ltd, : Huka Sawmills Ltd.
Tuck Bros (Exotics) Ltd, – November 1957 started New Zealand’s log trade to Japan, from Rotokawa forest exporting through Mt Maunganui, and later Napier Port.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo, Rotokawa Radiata Pine Forest, Broadlands Road, Taupo. Howard Bros. Transport Ltd, S Bedford logging trucks. Jerry Hurunui loading & Winston Howard. J.S. Burrows crane loading. 1955. Note: Mt Tauhara Top right.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. Rotokawa Forest. Howard Bros S Bedford loading, driver Jerry Hurunui. : Bert Ellis (skids).: Vic Semple driver log loader. Background – Mt Tauhara. : Photo 1955.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. Rotokawa Forest. Howard Bros. S Bedford, driver Winston Howard. : Bert Ellis (skids). : Vic Semple loader driver. : Photo 1955.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Taupo. Rotokawa Forest. Howard Bros. S Bedford, driver Winston Howard loading Radiata Pine logs for local Taupo sawmills. : Photo 1955.
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Rotokawa Forest, Taupo Howard Bros. Transport Ltd, S Bedford carting Radiata Pine logs along the Broadlands Road to Taupo sawmills. : Photo 1955
Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd. Radiata Pine logs from Rotokawa Forest, Taupo. – Howard Bros. Transport Ltd, S Bedford, Winston Howard driver, delivering logs to East Coast Sawmill Ltd., Taupo. : Andy McKean about to unload. : Photo 1955.
Howard Transport – (24th August 2955 formed into an incorporated company – renamed Howard Bros. Transport Ltd.) Howard Bros. Transport Ltd, – new 1954 ‘S’ Bedford Diesel 120 hp R6 Perkins engine, 5 speed Fuller gearbox & two speed electric change Eaton 16,500lb differential, towing a tandem axle jinker log trailer. Carting radiata pine logs from Tuck Bros log operations Rotokawa Forest (now Tauhara Forest) Broadlands Road Taupo to Tuck Bros Radiata pine sawmill. Golf links Road (now Tauhara Road) Taupo.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, from Rotokawa Forest supplied all the sawmills in Taupo with Radiata Pine logs.- They were (Tuck Bros. Ltd,) Mount Tauhara sawmill Ltd, (Jock O’Neil) Eastcoast Sawmill Ltd, (Eric Pardon).
Tuck Bros. Ltd, offered Howard Bros Transport a cartage contract to cart and supply Radiata Pine logs to all the about sawmills in Taupo, carting over flat well formed roads. About the same time they tendered for a 20 year logging contract to cart native logs for Tawa Timber Co, from the Maungataniwha bush to Kotemaori rail siding on the Wairoa Napier railway line. They won the tender to cart native logs over mountainous roads, then place the logs onto rail wagons at the Kotemaori rail siding for railing to Napier. Truck manufactures [manufacturers] withdrew their vehicle warrants / guarantees because of the rugged steep gradients of the roads and rough conditions. Mechanical breakdowns on new equipment were horrific.- Howard Bros Transport Ltd, slowly went broke. Photo: Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd., Radiata sawmill, Taupo 1956.
TUCK BROS LTD.,
Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd.,- Napier & Taupo.
The factory for Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd., Napier, was on the same site as the Tuck Bros. (Napier) Ltd., timber yard at Corruna [Corunna] Bay off Hyderabad Road. The Napier pre-cut homes company was established early in 1954 to promote the use of treated radiata Pine timber for building purposes, a new concept at the time. A booklet of cost-effective plans for two- and three-bedroom homes was available and with the help of a company architect they could be altered depending on the client’s wishes, or clients could have their own plan pre-cut at a cost-effective price.
There are many Tuck Bros. pre-cut homes in the Hawke’s Bay region and the North Island. Packages of pre-cut homes from the Napier factory were loaded onto rail wagons at the Ahuriri railyard and dispatched to destinations all over the North Island.
Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd., Taupo was a branch of the Napier Pre-cut homes. Taupo opened in 1955 with a new factory situated on the Tuck Bros. Tauhara timber yard site. Soon after the branch had opened it received a large order from J. Williams Construction Company of Christchurch to design and build twenty staff homes to be followed soon after by another twenty houses, thirty single men’s huts, cookhouse, and recreation hall to be erected near to the planned Wairakei Geothermal Steam Power House Station site. These were to be ready for the contractors when they arrived on a specified date, in early 1956. There are many Tuck Bros. Pre-cut Homes in and around Lake Taupo. The designs were popular, they were easy to construct and attractively priced for residential homes and were popular for holiday homes.
Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd., supplied and built twenty staff houses along the company’s road boundaries of Tauhara Road, Taharepa Road, and Konini Street, Taupo. All are still standing today.
The Government State Advances Corporation granted loans on all Tuck Bros. Pre-cut Homes. Fletcher Timber Company took over Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd., Taupo and Napier, on 1st June 1960.
Napier Pre-Cut Homes was closed down by Fletcher’s and the Taupo factory burnt to the ground in 1962.
Michael Palmer Tuck – 26 August 2019
Edited by Stephanie Tuck
View from Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd, Radiata Pine sawmill looking towards Timber retail yard &
Precut Homes factory
Joinery Office.
Factory
Main Engineering Gate.
Workshop
Tanalith treatment plant.
Tuck Bros. Ltd. Tauhara Road, Taupo.- Photo from Radiata Pine sawmill.
Left – Tuck Bros (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd.- Tauhara Timber & Joinery factory and planner [planer] shed. Close to pine trees left Engineering workshop.- Office.- Retail Timber Yard. Right of pine trees – Tuck Bros. ‘Tanalith’ Timber treatment plant. : Photo 1956.
Tuck Bros. (Pre-cut Homes) Ltd,- factory, Tauhara Road, Taupo. :Photo 1956.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Taupo – 40 acre (16 hectare) industrial site. Aerial photo May 1960.
(1) Totara Street.
(2) Spa Road
(3) Tauhara Road
(4) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Office.
(5) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tauhara Timber & Joinery Timber yard entrance.
(6) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Engineering workshop.
(7) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tauhara Timber & Joinery retail timber yard.
(8) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Planner [planer] shed & Joinery factory.
(9) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Precut homes factory.
(10) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Tanalith treatment plant.
(11) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Cookhouse. ‘The Pines’
(12) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Pine sawmill entrance.
(13) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Radiata Pine sawmill.
(14) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Boric treatment plant.
(15) Tuck Bros. Ltd, – first three staff houses (built 1950, Tauhara Road).
(16) Taharepa Road.
(17) Tuck Bros Ltd, Staff houses (Taharepa Road).
(18) Konini Street.
(19) Tuck Bros. Ltd, Staff houses (Konini Street).
(20) Taupo Borough Councils diesel electric generating plant. Generating town supply electricity.
[Advertisement]
TUCK BROS PRECUT HOMES LTD
THIS IS THE ANSWER TO YOUR HOME – BUILDING PROBLEMS
“PRECUT HOMES” COMBINE:
QUALITY, LOW COSTS, SPEED & WORKMANSHIP
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PRECUTTING
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OFFICE PHONE
NAPIER 3720
BOX 387
FACTORIES PHONE
NAPIER 3720
TAUPO 179K
BETTER HOMES AT LOWER PRICES:
TUCK’S PRE-CUT HOMES CAN HELP YOU
With our own forests and factories we have proved that we can bring down the cost of building a home without any lowering of standards.
This has been achieved by pre-cutting all the materials needed for constructing a home. The materials are delivered to the site and all the workmen have to do is to assemble them. This cuts down the erection time from 10 to 12 weeks to about six weeks. That is a saving which we pass on to the prospective home-owner.
All materials are carefully selected in the factory of TUCK’S PRE-CUT HOMES and this means that the carpenters are given only the best of timber.
Package Kits Available:
Those who have had experience of building can buy the complete package kit, containing everything from the concrete piles to the roofing. With clearly-drawn plans the home can be quickly and easily erected.
We will cut to your own plan.
State Advances will grant loans on TUCK’S PRE-CUT HOMES.
TUCK BROS (Log Export) LTD,
Napier. Established – 20th June 1959.
Taken over by the Fletcher Timber Co, – June 1960.
Tuck Bros (Log Export) Ltd, established – New Zealand’s Radiata Pine Log Trade. November 1957
Supplied from the Companies [Company’s] logging operations at Tauhara Forest, Taupo. Exporting through the port of Mount Manganui. (now Port of Tauranga) a trial shipment of 158 tons (60,000 feet), to Toyo Menka of Japan, sailing 20th November 1957,
This trial shipment was so successful that the immediate demand for Radiata Logs became so great that log ships were experiencing long delays in loading at Tauranga’s limited wharf space.
As Tuck Bros Ltd, logging operations at Taupo were approximately half way between Tauranga and Napier, it became necessary to start exporting through Napier as well as Tauranga to supply the large volumes of logs required by the Japanese importers.
NOTE : The HISTORY of Tuck Bros (Log Export) Ltd, is recorded on a separate A3 size folder.
Michael Palmer Tuck. 2009.
At the start of the log trade to Japan, old unsuitable ships were engaged to transport the logs. (Up to two weeks to load a small ship of 10,000 tons).
These ships had between cargo decks of confined spaces and vertical deck stays that the logs had to be stacked around.
The log trade soon established, and larger purpose designed bulk carrier ships were built with large open cargo holds for ease of loading logs/steel and other bulk cargos.
This speeded up loading and unloading and was much safer for water siders to work within.
Transporting the logs to Mount Maunganui Wharf for the trial shipment of logs to Japan, November 1957
The Japanese company Toya Menka Kaisha notified their New Zealand agent Owen Rainger that they had a ship in New Zealand waters and it would be docking at Mount Maunganui in ten days’ time to load the trial shipment of up to 200 tons of radiata pine logs. Rainger had not found a supplier at that stage so he contacted Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd, Taupo. When they agreed to supply this shipment, they were left with only a few days to supply and transfer the loads of logs 176 miles (283 km) to the wharf at Mount Maunganui before the ship docked.
All available logging trucks were engaged to cart the export logs to Mount Maunganui wharf. Most operators could only transport one load per day and that was after their normal days’ work supplying sawmills with logs.
One of the operators was Howard Bros. Transport Ltd., Taradale, Napier. Howard Bros. Transport Ltd., had a contract for two logging trucks to supply radiata pine logs from Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd. logging operations at Rotokawa Exotic Forest, to five Taupo sawmills.
Winston Howard, a Director of the company and one of the company’s truck drivers, was interview[ed] by Michael Tuck at Winston’s Taradale home on 17th March 2015.
Note: Howard Bros. Transport Ltd. Directors were: Edward Victor Howard (Eddie), and his sons, Bruce Victor Howard and Winston Ernest Howard.
Winston remembers, during November 1957, carting about 4 or 5 loads of export radiata pine logs, under urgency, and over a short period of a few days to Mount Maunganui wharf. Leaving Rotokawa Forest at about 5pm, after his usual working day had finished – carting logs to sawmills supplied by Tuck Bros. (Exotics) Ltd, in Taupo, he then made the long journey to deliver the logs for export to the Mount Maunganui wharf, returning to Taupo about 1am, then starting work again at 6am. Travel time from Forest to Wharf was about 4 hours.
Winston mentioned that the logging trucks had to use a road suitable for heavy logging trucks, so they had to use the Class II road and journey from Rotokawa Forest, and backtrack through Taupo, to Wairakei and on to State Highway 5 to Rotorua, then State Highway 33 through Te Puke, to Mount Maunganui Wharf. This was because the shorter route along Broadlands Road (where the Rotokawa Forest was) to Rotorua was classified as a Class 3 road (not suitable for heavy traffic). The road surface would cut up badly in frosty or wet weather and some bridges were not built to take heavy loads. Each bridge had its maximin [maximum] weight restriction displayed on it.
Winston drove a 1954 ‘S’ model Bedford 4-wheel single axle drive truck, powered by Perkins R6 120 hp diesel engine, Fuller 5 speed gearbox, Eaton 16,000 lb capacity 2 speed differential – towing a Tidd built tandem axle ‘Jinker’ pole logging trailer.
This truck carried about 400 cubic feet (4,000 Haakon dahl log feet) of exotic radiata pine logs.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, Exporting Radiata Pine Logs to Japan.
Stanley Palmer Tuck (seated right) Managing Director, Tuck Bros., Ltd, supplied 158 tons of Radiata Pine logs for a trial shipment to Japanese importers – Toyo Menka Kaisha Ltd, Osaka, Japan. The logs were transported from Tuck Bros Tauhara Forest, Taupo to Mount Maunganui for loading aboard the ‘Tenwa Maru’ – sailing on 24th November 1957.
This was the start of what is now a huge New Zealand log export trade.
Photo: representatives responsible for future log exports from Mt Maunganui. January 1958.
Tauranga Hotel conference room, meeting of principles [principals] involved with the first Radiata Pine log contract of 36 million feet, for Toyo Menka Kaisha, of Japan. : June 1958.
Back row – A. W. Godfrey NZ Lumber Co Stevedore/Transport –
Middle row –
Front row – Owen Rainger Nuera Ltd, Importers/exporters. K. Fujimura Lumber Dept Toyo Menka Kaisha W. Arita Toyo Menka Kaisha Stanley Palmer Tuck Tuck Bros Ltd., Log suppliers
Possible other names in the photograph but not identified:
N. B. Hunt Chairman of Tauranga Harbour Board : D.S. Mitchell mayor of Tauranga : F. Bridges general manager Whakatane Board mills : Tui Harvey : J. Carter Carter sawmills : H.K. Bunn, Bunn Bros Ltd, : R.A. Owens & H. Hodgkinson, Mount Stevedores Ltd, : Captain G. A. Carter harbourmaster : Captain S.R. Davis deputy harbourmaster. : H. Barnett Customs department.
The old Tauranga Hotel has finally had it’s day, and a piece of Tauranga’s history will go forever. Built in 1937 this hotel was the place to stay and dine if you were a far off visitor to Tauranga. It offered visitors a beautiful vista of the Strand and inner harbour, an excellent restaurant and bar on the ground floor, accommodation and conference room above. The main entrance was on the side street. As more modern motels and hotels were built it slowly fell into disrepair and ended its days as a night club called The Grumpy Mole. : Photo July 2013.
In the conference room of this hotel is where the Tauranga Radiata Pine log export meetings were held, starting 1957.
Stanley Palmer Tuck, Tuck Bros Ltd, managing director visited Japan, January 1959. Stan successfully established and increased the supply of NZ Radiata Pine logs to Japan.
S.P. Tuck. S. Shiokara
S.P. Tuck managing director Tuck Bros Ltd & S. Shiozawa managing director Toyo Menka Kaisha Ltd, Visiting a Japanese thermal park. : Photo January 1959.
Tuck Bros Ltd, – Managing Director, Stanley Palmer Tuck. -Visit to Japan. 9th January 1959.
Stan Tuck (second left) visiting a Japanese importers timber yard, Osaka, Japan
Daily Telegraph Napier
30th December, 1958.
Timber Man Plans Trip To Japan
The managing-director of Tuck Bros., Ltd., Napier, Mr S. P. Tuck, will visit Japan early in the new year to negotiate increased sales of New Zealand logs to the Japanese.
Mr Tuck said yesterday that his firm had been shipping logs to Japan for some time through the port of Tauranga. But by next May it was expected that most of the timber from the Taupo region would come to Napier via the Taupo road and would be shipped through the Port of Napier. This would enable New Zealand firms to step up the export of logs to Japan, and his trip was aimed at negotiating long term contracts between his firm and the Japanese, said Mr Tuck. He said that Japan’s requirements were about 600 million log feet of timber each year, and New Zealand could supply up to 200 million log feet.
Mr Tuck will leave for Japan on January 6, and arrive back in the Dominion at the end of the month, after making the return journey via Hong Kong, Singapore and Melbourne.
Stan Tuck (left) shown sights of Osaka City. : Photo January 1959.
Tuck Bros. Ltd, – Managing Director, Stanley Palmer Tuck. – Visit to Japan. 9th January 1959.
Tuck Bros Ltd, export logs unloading into Tokyo Bay. : Photo January 1959
Tuck Bros (Exotics-Log Export) Ltd, logs unloaded into sea pens. Tokyo Bay, Japan : Photo 1959.
Tuck Bros. Ltd (Exotics-Log Export) Ltd – logs unloaded into sea pens Tokyo Bay, Japan : Photo 1959.
Start of log exports to Japan from Napier Port. 20th June 1959.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Napier, Saturday 20th June 1959.
FIRST LOGS FOR JAPAN ARRIVE AT PORT
COINCIDING WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT of a huge log deal with Japan, the first logs from the Taupo area arrived at the Port of Napier this morning as the nucleus for a stock-pile preparatory to shipping. A fork-lift vehicle was used to transfer the logs from trucks to the stockpile. In the picture are (from left) Mr J. R. Harland, secretary of the Napier Harbour Board, Mr S. Tuck managing director of Tuck Bros. Ltd., who are to export the logs, and Mr R. H. Pettigrew, whose transport company will play a large part in the transport of the logs over the Taupo road. (See report on Page 8.)
Saturday 20th June 1959 at the Port of Napier, Tuck family acknowledging the arrival of the first logging truck load of export Radiata Pine logs to Japan from Tuck Bros logging operations, Rotokawa Forest, Taupo. This was the start of Radiata Pine log exports from the Port of Napier, making Napier the second port in NZ to export Radiata Pine logs.
Port of Napier arrival of the first logging truck load of Radiata Pine export log[s] to Japan. Tuck Family meeting the truck. Saturday 20th June 1959.
Pettigrew Transport Ltd, operating under Nant Bros Ltd licence – logging truck carted the first load of export Radiata Pine logs form Tuck Bros Ltd, logging operations Rotokawa Forest, Taupo to the Port of Napier for exporting to Japan. Saturday 20th June 1959.
Driver prepairing [preparing] for unloading. Load about 4,000 Haakon Dahl log feet. Truck – ‘S’ Bedford, petrol engine 105 JP. Logging rig – 32 axle. Jinker trailer.
Napier port – first load of export logs for Japan 20th June 1959.
Tuck Bros Ltd, export Radiata Pine logs for Japan arrive at the Port of Napier from the companies logging operations at Rotokawa Forest, Taupo.
Russell Pettigrew – cartage contractor meeting the logging truck.
Photo: Saturday 20th June 1959.
Tuck Bros (Napier) Ltd, Bullmoose Forklift. Napier Photo : Tuck Bros, Corunna Bay timber yard June 1959.
Tuck Bros (Napier) Ltd, Bullmoose forklift about to leave the timber yard to go to the Port of Napier to unload a logging truck. The company helped out the transport-marshalling contractor R. H. Pettigrew Transport Ltd, while they waited the arrival of their forklift.
Tuck Bros Ltd, Log Export, Napier.
The arrival of the first log ship to Napier Port (July 1959) was put forward by the agents. This created a shortage of logs for this shipment from the Taupo, Tauhara pine forest.
Hawke’s Bay Farm forest plantations were logged to supplement the shortfall. A logging division managed by Michael Tuck with four bushmen was set up. Machinery – new Allis Chalmers HD 6 E bulldozer with logging winch, Thornycroft 4 x 4 truck with O&K crane, four Homelite chain saws. All purchased from Cable Price Corporation Lower Hutt, Wellington. Two new workers huts on skids, organised by Taupo General Manager, Eric Smith arrived on site at the Cross’s [Crosse’s] farm Patoka, Hawke’s Bay. Pettigrew Transport (Bay View) had the contract to transport all export logs, handle log marshalling and deliver to ships side on wharf.
Tuck Bros Ltd, Log Export – Napier logging. April 1959. Logs for trucking out. Background building – woolshed. Cross’s [Crosse’s] Farm Hendley Road, Patoka, Hawke’s Bay.
Tuck Bros Ltd, Log Export – Napier logging.
Allis Chalmers HD 6 E bulldozer crossing log bridge breaking out logs.
Log bridge built of Blue Gum logs spanning – 80 foot ravine – about 90 deep.
Built to access pine tree plantation. : Photo April 1959.
Tuck Bros Ltd, Log Export – Napier logging.
Allis Chalmers HD6E bulldozer breaking out logs. Hendley Road, Patoka. HB. : April 1959
Tuck Bros (Exotics-Log Export) Ltd, – Freighter ‘Celebes Maru’ loading first log shipment from Napier Port to Japan Sailing 30th July 1959.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, NAPIER – 22 July 1959.
SHIPMENT OF LOGS FOR JAPAN FROM NAPIER
ABOUT 1,000,000 FEET OF LOGS are being loaded on the freighter Celebes Maru at the Port of Napier for direct shipment to Japan. This is the first consignment under an agreement between Tuck Bros. (Napier) Ltd. and Japanese interests. The above picture shows three logs being hoisted to-day on to the Celebes Maru, which is berthed at Geddis Wharf. The freighter is due to sail for Japan direct on July 30.
Tuck Bros (Exotics-Log Export) Ltd,- Radiata Pine export logs loading. Napier Port 1959.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Napier, Tuesday 4th August 1959.
JAPANESE SHIP COMPLETES LOADING LOGS
THE INITIAL SHIPMENT OF LOGS FOR JAPAN over the wharves at the Port of Napier left in the Japanese ship Celebes Maru at 5.30 last evening. It was the pioneer shipment of a huge new trade through the port. This picture shows the final sling of logs entering the forward hold of the vessel, which sailed for Dunedin to complete loading.
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Tuck Brothers LimitedFormat of the original
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