An innovative housing scheme was introduced in 1919 to accommodate railway workers, many of whom were returned servicemen. Rail was booming, and famous Railways Architect Sir George Troup developed a scheme to rapidly deploy new homes by pre-fabricating them. Frankton, a very busy railway junction and repair workshops, was chosen as the site for the factory and production began in 1921.
The railway house factory was well planned, and efficiently laid out. Native timber, mainly heart rimu, tawa and matai, was brought in to the site by rail to the factory siding where the adjacent sawmill cut and stacked the timber. The dried lengths were then cut and assembled into individually numbered parts, and the completed kits then railed out again to railway towns or small clusters of houses in quiet country districts. Major suburbs of these mass-produced houses are still present in Frankton, and Moera, Lower Hutt. Go for a drive to nearby cache GCYBQ8, and look at the rows of the factory product, in this protected suburb.
The factory produced one and a half houses per day, and it took three men 2 weeks to erect one house. Between 1923 and 1926 increased efficiencies saw production rise to 500 houses per year and the cost of a five-room house fall from £831 to £635. Ironically, this success led to the scheme's downfall. Timber companies threatened by state competition scuttled the scheme by convincing the government that private enterprise could build workers' houses more cheaply.
The factory was closed in 1929, and the building was absorbed into the railways industrial complex. In the early 1990’s it was deteriorating, and in use by a variety of small industrial businesses. After input by historic places trust, the current owner has fully renovated the building and it is tenanted with a range of commercial businesses.
We therefore continue to be able to enjoy this one-of-a-kind building, reminding us of what was the first kitset house factory in New Zealand.
The area is busy with muggles coming and going during the day, including Saturdays, so this is a night or Sunday cache.
You are looking for a large hanging bison tube, hooked on a zip-tie on a branch close to the trunk of a shrub. It contains a logbook, and room for small trades.
PLEASE HANG IT BACK ON THE BLACK PLASTIC ZIP TIE, SO IT DOES NOT CREEP AROUND THE BUSH
This is one of a series of historic building caches in Hamilton City.
Logging Recommendations
This cache, (like most of Radionut50’s hides) is NOT meant to be hard to find – so logs saying ‘easy find’ are pretty meaningless. The reason for this hide is to introduce you to this piece of our country’s great history , so logs commenting on your experience are very welcome. You are also invited to crack the hint as you arrive, to reduce the chance of a prolonged search compromising the hide in this very public place.
PLEASE ENSURE YOU HANG THE TUBE BACK ON THE ZIP TIE EXACTLY IN THE SAME PLACE YOU FOUND IT