In 1864 Brownlee and Co established its business at Mahakipawa for five years, followed by 18 years at Kaituna then on to Blackball in 1885.

The mill in Pelorus Sound was originally owned by the Pelorus Sawmill Company but was purchased by the Brownlees in the early 1880s. The mill owned a locomotive to transport wood from the bush to the mill and ships to take the milled timber to Canterbury and Wanganui.

The locomotive now forms part of the Havelock Museum collection. You can view photographs and read the story by clicking the "Miscellaneous Havelock Museum items" from our home page.

A wide range of native timber was milled including rimu, matai, white pine and totara. In 1906 the mill employed 35 men and a gang of about 20 men worked in the bush.

Source: The Cyclopeadia of New Zealand: Nelson, Marlborough and Westland. 1906 vol. 5

These photographs of the men, the mill and the associated operations are from the collection held at Marlborough Museum.

Click on 'Start Exhibit' above to begin a guided tour, or click on an image to the left to go directly to that record, or click on 'Table of Contents' above for a list of all records in the exhibit.