CHELSEA SUGAR REFINERY
Throughout most of the 19th century, all sugar products in New Zealand had to be imported; wishing to improve New Zealand's self-sufficiency, in 1882 the government offered a bounty to the first company to produce sugar locally. Already interested in business prospects in New Zealand, the Australian Colonial Sugar Refining Company had investigated possible sites in New Zealand and purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2) of farm land in Birkenhead. This was later expanded to 450 acres (1.8 km2).
The site was ideal for a refinery: the Waitemata offered deep water close to shore for a port, and fresh water from Duck Creek, which ran through the estate, and land and timber for building purposes were plentiful.
The name "Chelsea" was bestowed on the site by the refinery's first customs officer, who named it after Chelsea in England, his hometown.
New Zealand Sugar Company established
The "New Zealand Sugar Company" was formed in June 1883 by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, the Victorian Sugar Company, and a number of prominent Auckland businessmen, including Sir Frederick Whitaker, Allan Kerr Taylor, LD Nathan (of Lion Nathan), and AG Horton and JL Wilson (of Wilson & Horton). However, a collapse in the world sugar market in the 1880s led the New Zealand Sugar Company to be re-amalgamated into its parent company Colonial Sugar in 1888. In 1959, the present New Zealand Sugar Company was formed to allow local autonomy. Wilmar International currently own 75% of the New Zealand Sugar Company, and Mackay Sugar own 25%.
New refinery
Work began on the new refinery in 1883, when 150 workers levelled the ground, reclaimed a natural lagoon, built wharves (by blasting bedrock), and created dams using two-thirds of the 1.5 million bricks which were made on site; the remainder were used in the buildings. By 1884, the refinery was operating, and has not ceased its 24-hour operation since.
Of the 150 workers who built the refinery, 100 remained to work in it once it was complete; most had migrated from Auckland and settled in the area.
Some of the early machinery and equipment was imported from Greenock in Scotland; much of this historic equipment remains on site, providing a rich industrial heritage.
Model village
As work on the refinery began, the managers and company officers were able to adapt the existing farm cottages on the estate for their use, but the majority of workers lived in tents and temporary dwellings near the building site. This shanty town was replaced by Chelsea Village, which consisted of 35 cottages provided by the company within the grounds, some distance from the existing Birkenhead village. Planned to be a model town, it provided gardens, a church, reading room, school, and shop.
However, the village did not remain for many years; the lower houses suffered from dampness and were unoccupied by the early 1890s, and by 1900 it was known as the "barracks" and occupied mainly by single men. In 1905, the village was condemned by the health authorities and the worst of the houses were demolished; the rest were sold and shifted from the site. Some of the relocated cottages can still be seen in the older streets around Birkenhead, and the church, now known as St Peters, was moved to Verrans Corner (a local suburb).