When Cornishman John Perry stepped ashore in New Plymouth in 1841, his attention was immediately drawn to the black sands that stretched along the coast as far as the eye could see. In Cornwall, he had owned an iron foundry, and closer examination of the fine grains showed him that it was magnetic ironsand (titanomagnetite). His excitement was such that in a letter to his friends in England he said he was ‘astonished to see wealth spread out like a carpet’.
In 1848, Perry attempted to smelt the sand by erecting a small furnace on the banks of a small stream flowing into the Huatoki River. However he struck problems with the fine sand blocking the bottom of the furnace before the heat of the fire could reduce it to pig iron. He did manage to produce a small quantity of iron which was forged into small articles by the local blacksmith.
During the 1850s and 1860s the provincial government was keen to encourage development of the industry, offering lucrative rewards for any company that could produce good quality iron manufactured from the ironsand. Two companies were formed, the Taranaki Iron Sand Company and the Taranaki Iron and Steel Company. Both suffered financial problems and were unsuccessful.
By 1868, E. M. Smith, garrison armourer to the NZ military, discovered a new method of preventing the sand from choking the furnace. He mixed the sand with clay to form bricks, which were then heated to high temperatures. In 1869 a firm from Wellington erected a furnace on South Road and attempted to work the sand. The company was expanded and changed its name to the Pioneer Steel Company. Difficulties in making the metal flow freely from the furnace, along with financial problems, eventually saw operations suspended.
Not to be deterred, in 1872 Edward Smith formed the New Zealand Titanic Steel and Iron Company Ltd and ironsand smelting operations were established at the mouth of nearby Te Henui River. The works included a blast charcoal furnace and a powerful engine, designed to create immense heat. Nearly four tonnes of iron was produced and made into a variety of items, including two railway wheels cast at a foundry in New Plymouth.
But the smelting operations came to an abrupt halt in February 1883, "on account of the metal cooling in the furnace, rendering it impossible to run it out properly. The manager [George Burkett] decided to "blow out," which has been done, and it will take about ten days before the furnace will be sufficiently cool to allow of cleaning it out. A meeting of the Directors was held on Wednesday evening, when it was resolved to call a special meeting of the shareholders, for the purpose of considering the affairs of the Company. ...The Directors gave notice to the manager that his services were no longer required."
Unfortunately the quantity of iron produced was not sufficient to keep the company financially viable and the plant was sold and relocated to Onehunga within the year.
This 10-tonne block of congealed slag and pig iron was the cause of the New Zealand Titanic Steel and Iron Company's demise. It was uncovered in 1997 during site works for a house in nearby Nobs Line
Retrieved 20/06/2016; URL: KASM: Kiwis Against Seabed Mining - Seabed Mining, Ironsand - History of Commercial Exploitation.
Retrieved 20/05/2016; URL: Papers Past > Taranaki Herald > 2 February 1883 > Page 2 > THE IRON SAND SMELTING OPERATIONS.
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