Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former)

2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson, AUCKLAND

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Situated in what was once the rural outskirts of Auckland, Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former) was for much of its life the leading wine producer - and in latter years, main exporter of wine - in Aotearoa New Zealand. Founded in 1902 by notable winemaking pioneers from Lebanon, Assid Abraham (A.A) Corban and his family, it has outstanding significance for demonstrating the key contribution of migrants from outside northern Europe in the development of this country’s wine industry from small-scale production to its current prominent position in the national economy. Initially operating as an artisanal enterprise, it became a major industrial facility in the 1940s at the heart of the most intensively occupied winemaking district in the country. At the forefront of New Zealand winemaking for several more decades, the current site retains a wide range of notable features including an early purpose-built winery; rare example of a distillery tower and associated technology; and unusually-designed homestead displaying Lebanese influences – as well as plantings and other elements reflecting viticultural and orcharding practices; and later industrial elements that graphically demonstrate transformation into a major enterprise with international reach. The site lies beside Te Wai ō Panuku, a watercourse of importance to tangata whenua including Te Kawerau ā Maki. According to Te Kawerau accounts, this stream embodies the spiritual essence of the ancestor Panuku, flowing from the sacred maunga Parekura – named after her husband. It is also associated with Pareira, a niece of the early ancestor and voyager Toi Te Huatahi, and formed a valuable food and other resource for initial peoples. After European entrepreneurs established Henderson’s Mill to convert kauri forests to timber in the mid-nineteenth century, logs were flushed down its waters utilising the country’s first re-usable driving dams. From at least 1890-1, the current site held what was probably the first successful open-air grape growing business in the Henderson district, operated by Charles Caldwell. In 1902, Caldwell’s property was obtained by recent Lebanese migrants A.A. and Najibie Corban, who with their extended family developed it as Mt Lebanon Vineyards. They soon built a three-level winery (1903-7) for artisanal production and embarked on selling wine despatched along the adjoining North Island Main Trunk railway line. Wine production, vine and orchard tending, and mixed smallholding were undertaken by the extended Corban household in traditional Lebanese manner. Expanding rapidly in spite of the prohibition movement, the site developed into the country’s largest vineyard and producer by the early 1920s. Winery extensions (1920s), a large timber homestead for multi-generational family occupation (1923-4) and a three-vehicle concrete garage (1924) directly reflected this success. After 1941, second-generation family members undertook factory-scale expansion, creating a new brick and concrete winery (1941) and distillery (pre-1948) as home demand grew during the Second World War (1939-45). Further growth in the late 1950s included large bottling facilities (1959-60). The enterprise introduced significant innovations including refrigeration, stainless steel tanks (1958); and temperature-controlled fermentation (1962). During the 1960s and 1970s, the business was at the forefront of New Zealand’s evolution into an international producer, pioneering new table wines and undertaking the first major export of New Zealand wine (1963). Industrial-scale warehouses were built and extended (1963-78), and winery additions including tank farms erected (1967-72). Operations were expanded to new areas, including Poverty Bay and Marlborough – now major wine-producing regions. After being overtaken by Montana Wines and subsumed by the multinational Rothmans Industries, the complex closed in 1992 – although a sales and despatch presence was maintained until 2000. Now also incorporating the relocated St Michael’s Anglican Church (1914), the complex is used as an arts centre, including for urban Māori and Pacific Island communities.

Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former), Auckland. Distillery tower and cooperage | Martin Jones | 25/01/2022 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former), Auckland. Garage, front elevation (left) and rear elevation (right) | Martin Jones | 25/01/2022 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former), Auckland. Homestead, front elevation (left) and rear elevation (right) | Martin Jones | 25/01/2022 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former), Auckland. Homestead, showing interior features at ground floor level | Martin Jones | 25/01/2022 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Able to Visit

List Number

9336

Date Entered

6th June 2022

Date of Effect

7th July 2022

City/District Council

Auckland Council

Region

Auckland Council

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Lots 3 and 8 DP 208135 (RTs NA136C/100, NA136C/103), North Auckland Land District, and the buildings and structures known as Corban’s Winery and Mt Lebanon Vineyards (Former), thereon, and the following chattels: large wooden barrels x 3; small wooden barrels x 6; still rectifying column remnant; metal open-slat trays x 2; metal machinery remnants x 3 (wheels x 2 and cog); loose door x 1; Corban’s Wines Price List board x 1; boxes x 7 with bottle cartons, posters, bank books and advertisements; Cognac Barnett sign; and Golden Apple Cider Company wooden box x 1. Extent also includes pear trees x 3; pōhutukawa x 1; olive trees x 2; and numerous mature poplar, oak, pine and macrocarpa trees beside Te Wai ō Panuku. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).

Legal description

Lots 3 and 8 DP 208135 (RTs NA136C/100, NA136C/103), North Auckland Land District

Location Description

NZTM Easting: 1745161.0 NZTM Northing: 5917512.5 Address given in the nomination form was 426 Great North Road, Henderson. Note that the North Auckland Railway Line separates the property from the Great North Road.

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