Thorndon Brewery Tower (Former)

31-39 Murphy Street & 142-148 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, WELLINGTON

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DESCRIPTION: Staples Brewery was established at Thorndon about 1866 by John (b.1839) and William Staples, the sons of John Staples (b.1814) who was one of the first settlers at Nelson and the founder of the Motueka Brewery. In 1889 Staples Brewery was purchased by J. Staples and Company Limited, a company headed by local businessman Martin Kennedy. No member of the Staples family remained on the Board although John Staples remained in charge of the bottling department. J. Staples and Co Ltd had recently acquired the Junction Brewery and following the purchase of Staples the two were amalgamated and the operation was centralised at the site of Staples Brewery in Thorndon. The Thorndon site was developed to accommodate the new brewing process of fully filtered and carbonated beer. In 1913 a two-storeyed bottling plant was built, to be followed in 1915 by the brew tower. The southwest wing of Thomas Turnbull and Son's original design was omitted, while an existing engine room (date unknown) was incorporated. The beer produced at the plant was called 'Red Band' after the red bands on the brewery's beer casks and for a time the brewery was known as the Red Band Brewery. By 1920 there were 62 breweries nationwide resulting in difficulties within the industry which led to the merger in 1923 of ten of the larger breweries, including Staples Brewery and the Lion Brewery of Auckland, to form New Zealand Breweries Limited. In 1988 the company, then known as Lion Corporation, merged with L.D. Nathan Ltd to form Lion Nathan Ltd, the present owner of the Brewery. In 1959 New Zealand Breweries Limited opened a new brew tower at the Molesworth Street site. The Former Thorndon Brew Tower remained in use, however, until the end of June 1988 when the company decided to relocate its southern North Island operation to Hastings. At present the site of the Thorndon Brewery is being developed by Mace Development Corporation Limited into an office park complex focusing on the centrally located brew tower building which is to incorporate restaurants and/or taverns.

Thorndon Brewery Tower (Former) | Chris Horwell | 16/01/2014 | NZ Historic Places Trust
Thorndon Brewery Tower (Former) | NZ Historic Places Trust
Thorndon Brewery Tower (Former) | Chris Horwell | 16/01/2014 | NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

4426

Date Entered

6th June 1990

Date of Effect

6th June 1990

City/District Council

Wellington City

Region

Wellington Region

Legal description

All DP 12930 Lots 1 & 2 DP 72836 Pt Sec 579-583

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