Numerous pieces of work from Scott Bros' Atlas Foundry can be seen in the
New Zealand outdoor environment and in New Zealand homes and buildings.
The Scott brothers in Christchurch
John Lee Scott and George Scott arrived in Lyttelton in 1870. Both were
highly skilled pattern makers and engineers, having served their
apprenticeship at the Atlas engineering works in Derby, England. They both
found jobs as joiners working for a firm called Rankin and Greig. Before
and after work they built their first homes in Addington. Four-roomed
cottages were being built for £165, and the Scott brothers built cottages
and other buildings for several years.
Engineering business opened
They were keen to move into an engineering business and on a small section
near the centre of the city began foundry and engineering work. As the
business grew in 1876 they purchased a one-acre section in Manchester
Street in what is now the inner city of Christchurch and built a larger
foundry and engineering works. Two older brothers, Moses, an outstanding
engineer and draughtsman, and William, a moulder, came from England to join
them.
Fuel ranges
In the earlier articles on Growing Up in New Zealand there are frequent
references to cooking on the coal range. The Rangiora Museum
has an imported coal range on display, but imported ranges
became less and less common as ranges were manufactured in New Zealand.
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One of the larger ranges with an oven on the right and a hot water tank
with tap on the left
Photo source Scott Bros historic records
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In 1878 Scott Bros. Ltd began the production of cast iron fuel ranges.
Many thousands were built into homes all over New Zealand. In addition
many fuel ranges up to eighteen feet in length were built and installed in
hotels and restaurants.
In a booklet published about 1910 Scott Bros stated:
"It was not long (after the firm was founded) before the partners realised
that there was an almost virgin field awaiting them. A field, too, worthy
of their best endeavours.
"The KITCHEN RANGE market was but poorly catered for. Here was their
opportunity.
"True, there were ranges - several of them; but there was no really
standard range made at a reasonable figure. They determined that there was
going to be a standard range, and that the standard was going to be a high
one.
"Thus was conceived the idea of the now famous "ATLAS" RANGE, a range which
enjoys a sale of about 50% of the total number of ranges sold in New
Zealand to-day."
Testimonials are published in the back of the booklet. Here are a few of
the letters, interesting to modern readers for their content and the formal
style of writing.
Christchurch.
28th February 1878
Messrs Scott Bros,
About three months ago, after making enquiries and inspecting the
Colonial made and imported Stoves, we purchased one of yours, price £5. We
are perfectly satisfied with it, and can strongly recommend persons before
buying one to inspect yours. Your stoves cannot fail to give satisfaction
if properly fixed. In comparing your stoves with Colonial made and
imported ones, I find the following advantages:- Economy of Fuel, Neat in
Design and Well Finished, Price Considerably Below All Others.
Yours respectfully,
CHAS. BETHELL
Lyttelton Sailors' Home.
March 24th , 1884.
Messrs. Scott Bros.,
Christchurch
Gentlemen, - I have much pleasure instating that your stove is
giving every satisfaction. Also that the consumption of coal is only half
the quantity used in the former stove.
Yours truly
ROBERT L. OWEN, Superintendent.
Greymouth
April 27th, 1891
......In conclusion permit me to say that I paid a visit Home in /85 and
saw all that "Inventories" could produce. I landed in Wellington in
October, and had a look at the Exhibition there, and I saw a long cooking
range with white metal mountings of your make, and I tell you there was
nothing in the "Inventories" to touch it. This from an expert.
Yours truly,
F. B. WATERS
Other products made by Scott Bros were commonly found in New Zealand homes
as they also made cast iron enamelled baths, enamelled kitchen sinks and
grates for fireplaces and wooden mantelpieces.
Engines
In 1885 the New Zealand Government let a contract to Scott Bros for ten D
Class steam railway engines. The price set for the contract was
£13850.0.0. The work was to be completed by 27 March 1887. These engines
gave good service to the NZ Railways and then were sold to private firms.
One engine, Maggie, was sold in 1920 to Kempthorne Prosser & Co,
Christchurch, and for thirty seven years was used for shunting trucks at
the chemical works. Maggie is now in pieces at Ferrymead
where volunteers are well on the way with the restoration. Alan Burney,
who is featured in the Ferrymead article, is one of the volunteers involved
in the restoration.
The Kaiapoi Woollen Company asked Scott Bros to design and manufacture a
Corless Engine of 650 horsepower. It was the largest ever built in New
Zealand and for many years drove all the machinery in the mill.
The firm also produced agricultural machinery - Seed Strippers, Cambridge
Rollers, and Windmills.
The Dredge
In 1887 because Christchurch people continued to be interested in keeping
the Avon River navigable, a plan was put forward for the building of a
two-purpose vessel - a passenger steamer which could tow a dredge and thus
clear the weeds and silt from the river. The dredge was to be "a hedgehog
dredge", fifteen feet long and consisting of fifteen "hedgehogs" or rakes.
A contract for building the steamer and the dredge was let to Scott Bros in
1890. The steamer and the dredge were launched early the following year.
The passenger service suffered various setbacks and lapsed, but the dredge
was contracted by the Christchurch Drainage Board to clear the river - work
it continued to do until 1909.
Patented Gas Producers
The two Scott brothers designed and patented a Gas Producer used to produce
power. It had an up-and-down draught which functioned differently from
other plants and produced gas from Lignite coal. Many of these gas
producers were sold in sizes from 25 to 500 horsepower.
Bridge construction
The first major bridge contract was for the railway and traffic bridge
across the Teremakau River, a large and treacherous river on the West
Coast. At the time it was the largest bridge structure in New Zealand,
and was the first of a series of bridges built by the firm in the South and
North Islands.
The Teremakau Bridge was followed by construction of the steel for the
Staircase Viaduct on the railway from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass. The
viaduct crosses Staircase Gully which drops deeply in the Waimakariri
Gorge. It was built by the Government after the Midland Railway Company
collapsed in the 1890s. The Government let the contract to an English
firm, Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company. The piers were built of
steel and concrete, and the steel was manufactured locally to their design.
Because of the depth of the gully construction was extremely difficult.
Men could be taken across on a wire ropeway, but the heavy materials had to
be transported by horses on a steep zig-zag track on the side of the
canyon. These difficulties caused many accidents and slips.
The viaduct is 146 metres long and 71.6 metres high which makes it the
highest in the South Island. It was finally opened in 1906 in time for
the New Zealand International Exhibition held in Christchurch.
The combined road and rail bridge over the Awatere River at Seddon was
designed by Peter Seton Hay and built by Scott Bros. The double decker
bridge, one of only three in New Zealand, was founded on cast iron
cylinders sunk into the river bed. The piers and abutments are concrete
with ten steel trusses with a curved steel plate girder at each end. It
was opened on 10 October, 1902.
Structural steel
Scott Bros manufactured the structural steel for the King Edward Barracks,
a large drill hall in Christchurch which was demolished only recently, the
High Street Post Office and the Port Chalmers docks. They also made the
ornamental panels for the present Christchurch Police Station in Hereford
Street.
Generating equipment for 1906 Exhibition
Generating equipment was made and installed at the 1906 New Zealand
International Exhibition in Hagley Park, and when the Exhibition buildings
were dismantled and the equipment was sold the system was set up in the
town of Timaru, giving it its first electrical supply system.
Scott Bros also made the water slide for Victoria Lake which was a popular
feature at the Exhibition.
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The front verandah of Elvaston
Photo source Scott Bros historic records
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Wrought iron
Wrought iron, often in ornate patterns, decorated many public buildings,
bridges, and the verandahs of many homes. Wrought iron gates gave access
to homes and parks, many park benches had wrought iron legs and arm
supports or even an elaborately patterned wrought iron back, and wrought
iron fountains were made for parks and gardens. Wrought iron steeples for
houses or churches and ceiling roses, staircase balustrades and grills were
also popular. Scott Bros' lamps lit the Christchurch streets and remnants
of some are still used around Oxford and Cambridge Terraces. Elvaston, the
home of John Lee Scott, of course had wrought iron verandah posts and
trimmings.
The most popular pattern for verandahs included the thistle, the rose and
the shamrock.
To view some of the intricate designs used for the above products go to the
Photo Supplement for this article.
Napier Band Rotunda
One of the most deorative wrought iron buildings was the Napier Band
Rotunda built in 1916 but destroyed in the 1931 Earthquake.
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Napier Band Rotunda
Photo source Scott Bros historic records
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A fireplace displayed in the museum of Scott Bros' products
Photo source Scott Bros historic records
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Early model of electric range
Photo source Scott Bros historic records
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Gloucester St Bridge, Christchurch
The Gloucester Street bridge across the Avon River was opened in 1886.
Scott Bros was responsible for all the ironwork, including the decorative
railings on both sides of the bridge.
Register grates
Research to find the meaning of the term 'register' made me realise that it
was not just a black grate in a fireplace. The Oxford Complete Wordfinder
defines it as "an adjustable plate for widening or narrowing an opening and
regulating a draught, especially in a fire grate."
Atlas made register grates and also ornate mantelpieces. Their brochure
states that "All the timber used in our Mantelpieces is specially selected,
winter cut, and seasoned for at least two years."
Electric ranges
As an electric power supply became available throughout much of the country
a strong demand grew for electric cooking equipment. During the Depression
in 1931 the company began manfacturing the well-known Atlas electric
ranges. To produce the ranges the company had to enlarge the factory and
extend the plant to allow for mass production of the ranges.
The war effort
During the Second World War the company manufactured munitions including
several million hand grenades, half a million two inch mortar bomb bodies,
and ammunition boxes and also enamel drinking mugs for the forces. At that
time much of the manufacturing equipment needed could not be imported so
Scott Bros built the lathes needed for machining the grenades.
Developments in the manufacture of electric ranges
In 1948 Construction of electric ranges progressively changed from cast
iron to pressed sheet steel. In 1961 a large 750 kw porcelain enamelling
furnace and plant were installed - amongst the first in New Zealand.
Closure of the general engineering section
In 1974 the general engineering part of the business was shut down to make
space for larger electric cooker assembly lines.
Changes of business name and ownership but Atlas cookers continue
Over the years there were various changes of names applicable to new
ownership. Early in 2001 the company Electrolux, which has its parent body
in Sweden, took over the firm.
Production of Atlas electric cookers has continued with over 100 staff
employed producing approximately 20,000 high quality cookers per year.
Museum set up at the factory
In 1992 Margaret Palmer, who had been working in the office of Scott Bros
since the 1960s was appointed to coordinate the work of setting up a
display of their products to illustrate the history of the firm. The
result of persistent research and public appeals was a display that
highlighted the key products manufactured by Scott Bros over the years -
products still found all over New Zealand, inside and outside homes and
public buildings. The photo below shows Margaret with some of the products
displayed. Her help has been invaluable in the preparation of this
article.
