Sunday 7 June 2020

The old Wilson Cement Works





This is one historical spot in Warkworth, north of Auckland that I use to spend regular time at when my children are alot younger and the reason why is that in Autumn the colours on the trees is pretty special, we would wander through each ruin and sit in the sunshine. 




The old Wilson Cement works was once in use from around 1850 and the lake above was once where the ground was drilled, so deep that rain has since filled it up. At one point I believe there was an issue with contamination in the water but I have since heard that it has been cleared up as people swim in it during Summer.




So boats would come up the Mahurangi River (behind the property) and then the cement would then be shipped to Auckland to be used in the original Queen Street sewer system and other construction projects.




There are only ruins there but it is a popular place for photographers.  Apparently this was NZ's first cement manufacturing works and the founder was one Nathaniel Wilson (1836-1919) who emigrated from Glasgow with his family when he was 6 years old. He originally trained as a shoemaker but in 1864 he purchased a small block of land next to his parents block south of Warkworth village.




With lime deposits found on his land he built is own kiln in 1866 and decided to manufacture his own Roche lime used in plaster and mortar.  He first became interested in cement in 1883 and after experimenting by 1885 Nathaniel and his 2 brothers John and James began trading.  




Sadly by 1918 the company was voluntarily wound up and amalgamated with the NZ Portland Cement Company.  By 1926 the closure happened and the machinery was moved to Portland near Whangarei  and this cement works closed for good in 1929.  This whole site has since been recognized by Heritage NZ as a Category 1 historic place. The photo above was taken in 1910 by William price and shows coal smoke billowing from the chimneys.

There is more extensive information here.

14 comments:

Rhonda Albom said...

Very interesting. Amazing how quickly things get built up and then scrapped. I never knew about this site.

Sharon said...

What an interesting history this place has. It looks like a perfect place to explore.
Phoenix has average summer temperatures around 115 degrees or above. It has gotten as hot as 121 but that doesn't happen often. The last two weeks we had an early heat wave and it reached 116 for a few days.

Graham Edwards said...

When I saw your 4th photo I realised that it was familiar but I don't appear to have blogged about it. I'm always fascinated by how your blog awakens memories for me.

Amy said...

Have you been there Graham? It's quite a fascinating spot.

Amy said...

It's just before Warkworth on the road hand side just before you go into town, if you follow the signposts you'll get there easy.

Graham Edwards said...

Amy, I'd have to check but I'm pretty sure that I have. As soon as I saw the chimney tower standing alone it was very familiar. One of the problems I find is that I saw so much of Northland over the years 'on safari' and often stops were fairly brief. There were, of course, places like KeriKeri where we stayed and spent quite a lot of time and Warkworth where we visited a number of times but sometimes the names and places get confused in what passes for my brain.

Tom said...

...an interesting history lesson about a material that is important, but rarely thought of.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I love old industrial sites like this and the history behind them.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Love the old black and white photo Amy.. old ruins are such a draw for photographers, they are so full of history and extremely photogenic as a bonus 😉

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful historical post and gorgeous photos ~

Be Safe, Be Well,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Bill said...

Wonderful photos, lots of history and a great place to explore.
I love the old photo.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Fun to see the old pictures .,, and to read about these pioneer entrepreneurs. They did well , even if eventually the plant was closed. ..... and places to go that give you good seasonal color as well as some history are great finds.

Susan Heather said...

Have never been there in spite of spending a lot of time in Warkworth and Matakana. Must put it on the "to do" list.

At Home In New Zealand said...

Sounds like an interesting spot to visit. I like your fourth photo (with the tall chimney) with its enticing air of mysterious ruins :)

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