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Story: Factory industries

Bruce woollen mills

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Bruce woollen mills

The Bruce Woollen Manufacturing Company mill in Milton imported most of its specialist machinery from Britain. Used for carding, spinning, twisting, warping, finishing, weaving and combing, it was estimated to cost £6,000 ($998,000 in 2009 terms) – more than half the capital raised. The machinery is shown here being assembled in 1897. It was driven by a boiler and, when manufacturing first began, two traction engines supplied by local engineering firms.

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Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: S09-350d

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Ian Hunter, Factory industries – Factories before the 1880s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25555/bruce-woollen-mills (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ian Hunter, published 1 March 2010.