Our Historic Businesses

Historic Businesses

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  AuntsfieldEstablished by David Herd in 1873, the original Auntsfield vineyard marks the beginning of commercial winemaking in Marlborough. Its surviving cellar and later revival connect the region’s nineteenth-century agricultural experiments with the wine industry that eventually transformed its landscape.
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  Bank of New Zealand, BlenheimThe Bank of New Zealand established its Blenheim branch in 1865, providing banking services as the provincial township developed. Its local history offers a view of the financial institutions that supported merchants, farmers and the growing commercial centre.
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  Barratt’s Hat ShopEstablished around 1923, Barratt’s Hat Shop was one of Blenheim’s specialist retailers. Represented in the historical displays at Beavertown, the business offers a glimpse of the clothing trades, personal service and shopping habits of an earlier town centre.
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  Blenheim Brewery, Dodson & BallDating to 1858, the Dodson and Ball brewery was an early industrial enterprise in Blenheim. Its history links local brewing with the town’s commercial development, while the surviving brewery premises have accommodated several different businesses and uses over subsequent generations.
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  Brownlee & Co.The Brownlee family began milling timber in Marlborough during the 1860s, developing a substantial enterprise around Havelock and the Pelorus district. Sawmills, bush tramways, shipping and associated stores connected the company with the working lives of several local communities.
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  Carr’s HardwareWilliam “Billy” Carr established his business as a tinsmith and plumber in 1881. His Market Street hardware shop became known for its comprehensive stock, linking a familiar Blenheim retail business with the trades and practical needs of the surrounding district.
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  Corry & Co.Operating in Blenheim and Seddon, Corry & Co. traded in grain and seed under John Joseph Corry. His success in barley exports earned him the description “barley king”, connecting the business with Marlborough’s agricultural economy and its links to wider markets.
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  Criterion HotelBuilt for James Sinclair around 1871, the Criterion Hotel occupied a prominent corner of Market Street in Blenheim. Successive fires and rebuilding became part of its story, reflecting both the hazards of the early town and the persistence of its hospitality businesses.
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  Dalgety & Co., BlenheimDalgety & Co.’s Blenheim offices and stores are documented in architectural records from 1911–12. The company’s local presence illustrates the role of stock-and-station agencies in connecting Marlborough’s farms, produce and commercial premises with national and overseas trading networks.
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  Farmers’ Co-operative, BlenheimFarmers’ co-operative trading formed part of Blenheim’s agricultural and retail economy during the twentieth century. The Queen Street department store is particularly remembered for the devastating fire of 1979, after which the business moved to Market Place.
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  Fell BrothersThe mercantile partnership adopted the name Fell Brothers in 1873, following the dissolution of Dodson, Fell & Co. Henry Seymour Fell and Alfred George Fell continued the business, placing the firm within the network of merchants serving nineteenth-century Marlborough.
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  Girling & Co.Established by William Baker Girling during the 1870s, the drapery business grew into a familiar Blenheim department store. Clothing, fabrics, furnishings and household shopping formed part of its long association with the town’s commercial centre and surrounding communities.
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  Marlborough ExpressFounded by Samuel Johnson in 1866, the Marlborough Express became a major recorder of the region’s public and everyday life. Its business history includes printing, publishing and the work of generations of journalists, printers, photographers and other newspaper staff.
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  Orsman’s StoreWilliam Henry Orsman opened his own general-store business in Havelock’s Union Street in July 1901, after working for Brownlee & Co. The store forms part of the township’s history of supplying residents and the surrounding rural district.
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  Oxley’s HotelOriginally known as the Bank Hotel, the business occupied its Picton waterfront position from around 1870. Later associated with the Oxley name, it became a recognisable part of the harbour’s commercial landscape, serving the township and travellers passing through the port.
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  Perano Whaling CompanyThe Perano family’s whaling enterprise operated in the Marlborough Sounds from 1911 until 1964. Its history encompasses whale-catching vessels, shore processing, technological changes and the working lives of the people involved in New Zealand’s last commercial whaling operation.
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  Pope’s MotorsAssociated with proprietor Wilfred Pope, Pope’s Motor Service was advertising Blenheim–Nelson services by 1923. Later advertisements used the name Pope’s Motors Ltd. and promoted connections with Picton and Christchurch, placing the company within the region’s expanding motor-service network.
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  Redwood BrothersRedwood Brothers’ flour-milling business connected local wheat production with the supply of flour and other milled products. Documented in early twentieth-century advertisements and later photographs, its mill and grain stores became familiar features of Blenheim’s industrial landscape.
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  Robinson BrothersAdvertising in Blenheim by 1868, Robinson Brothers worked as ironmongers, coachbuilders and wheelwrights. The firm supplied goods and services associated with transport, building and household life, illustrating the varied work undertaken by an early provincial hardware and trades business.
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  Thomas’sJohn Emlyn Thomas and his wife Kathleen established their Blenheim store in 1912. Successive generations of the family developed the business through changing fashions, economic difficulties and new forms of retailing, maintaining a long connection with Marlborough’s town-centre shopping history.
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  Wairau Hotel, Sheepskin TavernBuilt by John Godfrey in 1851, the Wairau Hotel at Renwick became known as the Sheepskin Tavern. Alongside its role as an early accommodation business, it hosted gatherings connected with the movement to separate Marlborough from Nelson Province during the 1850s.