Historic Boiler

A 70-year-old traction engine boiler was recently removed from the premises of Waihirere Wines Ltd.

Employed for water heating and distilling purposes, the boiler was converted and installed 24 years ago by the present vineyard manager, Mr Fred Wohnsiedler.

The traction engine was bought from Mr Tom Hill, of Makaraka, and had been previously used for threshing on the Poverty Bay flats by a Mr Rickard.

Replacing the old boiler in the winery is a modern fully automatic, electrically controlled, fuel-burner. Valued at £3000, it is an Anderson-Package type, and was built in Christchurch.

The new boiler is one of the many additions to the plant of the firm, which has tripled its production over the last four years.