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The Nelson Photo News

 

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Timber Merchants move to Tahuna Area

The firm of Robertson Bros, later known as J. D. and L. Robertson Ltd, is moving from the factory site in Hardy Street it has occupied since 1902, It will carry on in business from a site in Bolt Road, Tahunanui, where factory buildings are being constructed. In more recent years, since the firm was taken over by Fletcher Holdings, it has become increasingly obvious that the present site left no room for expansion, so a decision to shift to an area already well-known in this field, was made. On the Hardy Street site, the Fletcher Trust intends to erect a shopping mall, with car parking and modern shopping facilities. This whole programme involves the company in an expenditure of something like £200,000, practically all of which will be spent within the province.

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A floor plan of the mall, with Hardy Street at right and Kerr Street in the foreground

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This photograph of Robertson's staff, taken in 1922, includes many well-known Nelsonians - Mr J. D. Robertson (in doorway with hat), Frank Newton and Joe Smith (4th from left), Frank Brewer (9th left), Neville Green, Perc McConchie (12th left), B. B. Jones (14th left), Nel Goodman (16th left, still with the firm after 33 years), and Hughie Batchelor (3rd from right, now with State Electricity Department, Nelson).

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The frontage of the present factory in Hardy Street

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Manager, Mr Bernie McMullan, checks with Jan Jankowski, progress with the construction of the new factory buildings at Tahunanui.

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A tremendous yard at the new premises in Bolt Road permits the easy and safe handling of large loads of stacked timber from place to place. Here, Lou Hedwig uses his loader to shift a stack.

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The loading of trucks with dry timber from inside the big sheds is made easier by diagonal bays. This system permits two trucks to work almost alongside each other in a confined space.

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Pressure treatment of timber being carried out by Ken Martin and Ken Craze, timber treatment supervisor.