(15) Flour Mill, Esk Street, c.1870

Component — Box: ICC-0998

Identifier: S27520001_015

Staff Only

Flour Mill, Esk Street

Scope and Contents

Hare & Pratt's Flourmill, southside Esk Street between Kelvin and Devron streets. Block III, likely section 3 (as Lowther Arcade ran through sections 4 and 19).

See caption, Southland Times, 10 Dec 1924, p. 15: The large building in the centre is Hare & Pratt’s Flourmill in Esk Street, where Watts & Grieve’s garage is now. The flour was all made by stone grinding. The right-of-way on the left led into the Lowther Arcade.

See also Southland Times, 18 Feb 1874, p.3 for description of businesses on sections 3,4,19 and 20.

Dates

c.1870

Conditions Governing Use

This item has no known copyright restrictions. Please reference Invercargill City Libraries and Archives A0105 S27520001_015 when re-using this image.

Biographical / Historical

The Flour Mill, with an engineering shop alongside, was first owned by Jabez Hay, from Inverkeithing in Fife, who came to Invercargill in 1859. In 1865, he was joined by his aunt’s husband James Mentiplay who also came from Scotland.

In late 1860s, the mill was taken over by John Hare and Thomas Pratt, who were general merchants and agents in Dee Street beside the Southland Club Hotel. Thomas Pratt born in Liverpool in 1835 and arrived in Invercargill in 1864 (Hall-Jones, 1946). Hare and Pratt took over the building beside the flour mill which had been occupied by Henderson, Bonar & Co, merchants and shipping agents on that site since 1862 at least. This building was used as a store.

In 1875, John Hare retired from the partnership of Hare and Pratt and the flourmill was continued by Thomas Pratt and James Mentiplay. John Hare became the registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages.

In 1876, the business was bankrupt and put up for sale, but after a short time, H. & E. Osborne were commissioned to auction off the plant and stock.

“After leaving the flour mill James Mentiplay had no business place of his own, nor did he pursue any regular occupation, not being under the necessity of doing so, but he had a steady liking for his old profession and was at the same time of an inventive turn of mind and an extremely deft workman. By instinct, as it were, he took an almost paternal interest in the development of Mr David Strang’s coffee and spice works, and with the exception of the engine and boiler, made with his own hands almost the entire plant of that establishment. To him also belonged the distinction of erecting among the first, if not the very first, flax dressing machinery in Southland” (Obituary, Southland Times, 22 July 1893, p.3).