Timeline
Arthur McKee
Arthur McKee was born in Liverpool, England in 1863. When he was fifteen he began his career in the newspaper industry and journalism, attending lectures at Liverpool University College. In 1882 he moved to a nearby town, St Helens, for a position as a reporter. In 1888 he launched his own newspaper there, the “St. Helens Chronicle”.
In 1890 he emigrated with his wife, Martha and young family to live in Wellington. There, he formed a partnership, McKee and Gamble, to establish an innovative printing and photo-engraving business. As well he started to expand his horizons beyond the publishing world to real estate.
1902 was the year he moved to the Nelson region. At first he and his family lived in Riwaka where he had purchased an orchard. By 1910 Arthur bought 2,600 acres in the Moutere Hills region, naming the area Tasman, and at the same time he established a syndicate there, Tasman Orchards Company.
Arthur McKee is seen here (right) (ca 1890s) exploring the countryside by bicycle
Photo of Fred picking apples before he enlisted for WW1 and was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916
With his older sons, Artie, Fred and Frank, he established the McKee family orchard of about 100 acres at the top of the Bluffs, Te Mamaku / Ruby Bay. This led in 1920 to a partnership with eight other growers, to form an apple-packing co-operative company. With all these initiatives, Arthur was the prominent player in developing this Moutere, Tasman, Māpua area into a viable apple growing region.
This is the McKee label of 1922 ‘The Bluffs Orchards’.
In 1910 at the base of the Bluffs, Arthur had put aside 8.49 hectares of native bush. After he died in 1943, his family gifted this land in his memory and, combined with adjoining land owned by the Automobile Association Nelson, this seaside area became a reserve. Today it is known as the McKee Memorial Reserve and is used as a camping site.
Apple carts near Ruby Bay
The last of a load of manufactured goods from the Fruitgrowers Chemical Company factory.
By 1932 at Port Māpua, Arthur saw the need to produce fruit sprays for the expanding orchard industry, so together with his younger sons, Guy and Tasman (Tas), they established Fruitgrowers Chemical Company (F.C.C.), followed in 1937 by Lime and Marble Ltd.
During this time Arthur developed a range of business opportunities. An example was making products with pulverised marble, which was obtained from their quarry near the top of the Takaka Hill. As Guy said of his father: “Without his business acumen and foresight, I am sure we would never have got off the ground”.
Guy McKee
Guy McKee became Production Manager at the Māpua factory. With his practical experience of orchard work, he contributed to the development of weed and pest control in the form of seed spreaders, sheep dipping and drenching, and also the development of coated seeds. Fred McKee(Artie’s son) contributed as well to the F.C.C. team in these developments.
Tas McKee was F.C.C.’s first industrial chemist. Eventually he became Managing Director for these two companies which, by the 1970’s, had expanded to include nine New Zealand wide subsidiaries.
In 1932, Arthur gifted this microscope to Tas for his 21st birthday when he had just graduated with a B.Sc. in chemistry and geology. He started using this microscope, to check particle size distribution in liquid suspensions of sulphur and other fungicides or insecticides. [Photo: Tas at work in the “old shed”]
Tas McKee in laboratory
Tas McKee with microscope
Eventually, in 1949, Tas and his then co-researcher Laurie Brown applied for a patent covering U.S.A, Canada, U.K. and New Zealand, for a continuous colloidal reduction process. This patent was awarded in 1956, giving a big boost for F.C.C. which received royalties for overseas manufacture under license.
Prospecting
In the early 1950s, spurred on by Prime Minister Sidney Holland’s statement, reflecting the popular view at the time that New Zealand had little significant mineral deposits, Tas and the Team worked to widen the general public’s understanding of New Zealand’s resources. Over the next twenty years, Lime and Marble Ltd and its subsidiaries became involved in a range of mineral exploration and development projects, pioneering the use of helicopters to reach remote areas, drawing on overseas technical expertise and forming joint ventures with foreign companies.
Oil exploration
In 1966 when Tas was awarded an O.B.E. for his pioneering work in mineral exploration and development, he emphasised the Team’s part in this. Professor Gordon Williams (Dept. of Mines, University of Otago) said later of Tas: “ He uniquely combined scientific approaches with energy, foresight and business judgement, so as to bring about a practical awareness of our mineral resources”
In the mid 1960s, Lime and Marble ventured into oil exploration, with a quarter share in Tasman Petroleum This led to the formation of a public company, L & M. Oil (N.Z.). In the early 1970s, gas and condensate were discovered at Urenui, Taranaki. After his death, a promising nearby site was named in Tas McKee’s honour, and in 1980 commercial quantities of oil were discovered there.
Tas, along with the scientists working at Port Māpua during the 1940s to 1970s, had established good working relationships with some government scientific institutions such as the D.S.I.R., Agricultural Chemicals Board, Cawthron Institute, also the local Research Orchard in Redwood Valley. Being open to generally accepted contemporary scientific research, as context of the times, was important for Tas, Guy and the Team, for the development of F.C.C. and Lime and Marble projects.
Exploration of minerals
In 1971 two years before his death, Tas was appointed to the Environmental Council. By then he was becoming increasingly concerned that persistent agricultural chemicals could no longer be used. He was also gaining fresh insights about mineral development needing to balance with conservation. In 1972, in what turned out to be his last public address, to the Royal Society of New Zealand, Tas concluded: “The community must set the standards”
In 1973, Tas died suddenly in March. Guy was due to retire in November 1973 from his position as Production Manager. In August that same year, the family business was sold to Transport Nelson Ltd. By 1980 the business was sold to B.P. and then to other public companies later.
No longer were F.C.C and Lime & Marble managed by people who were part of the Māpua community. The growth of Māpua as a seaside village became incompatible with an expanding chemical factory. So with the local community setting the standards, in 1988 the companies shut down.
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Today, Port Māpua is a vibrant community hub. The land has been restored to become an open green space connected to the shore of the Waimea estuary, with trade flourishing in the cafes and shops nearby.
Part of the McKee legacy still remains. In December 1968, Tas and Guy with extended McKee family support had established the McKee Trust, with the intention of recognising the numerous contributions of the Team, former staff who had worked at the companies from the 1930s until 1988. The McKee Trust is unique in New Zealand, as the remaining staff still receive an annual bonus, and every December they gather together for a Christmas Lunch.
Timeline
Arthur McKee
Arthur McKee was born in Liverpool, England in 1863. When he was fifteen he began his career in the newspaper industry and journalism, attending lectures at Liverpool University College. In 1882 he moved to a nearby town, St Helens, for a position as a reporter. In 1888 he launched his own newspaper there, the “St. Helens Chronicle”.
In 1890 he emigrated with his wife, Martha and young family to live in Wellington. There, he formed a partnership, McKee and Gamble, to establish an innovative printing and photo-engraving business. As well he started to expand his horizons beyond the publishing world to real estate.
1902 was the year he moved to the Nelson region. At first he and his family lived in Riwaka where he had purchased an orchard. By 1910 Arthur bought 2,600 acres in the Moutere Hills region, naming the area Tasman, and at the same time he established a syndicate there, Tasman Orchards Company.
Arthur McKee is seen here (right) (ca 1890s) exploring the countryside by bicycle
Photo of Fred picking apples before he enlisted for WW1 and was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916
With his older sons, Artie, Fred and Frank, he established the McKee family orchard of about 100 acres at the top of the Bluffs, Te Mamaku / Ruby Bay. This led in 1920 to a partnership with eight other growers, to form an apple-packing co-operative company. With all these initiatives, Arthur was the prominent player in developing this Moutere, Tasman, Māpua area into a viable apple growing region.
This is the McKee label of 1922 ‘The Bluffs Orchards’.
In 1910 at the base of the Bluffs, Arthur had put aside 8.49 hectares of native bush. After he died in 1943, his family gifted this land in his memory and, combined with adjoining land owned by the Automobile Association Nelson, this seaside area became a reserve. Today it is known as the McKee Memorial Reserve and is used as a camping site.
The last of a load of manufactured goods from the Fruitgrowers Chemical Company factory.
By 1932 at Port Māpua, Arthur saw the need to produce fruit sprays for the expanding orchard industry, so together with his younger sons, Guy and Tasman (Tas), they established Fruitgrowers Chemical Company (F.C.C.), followed in 1937 by Lime and Marble Ltd.
During this time Arthur developed a range of business opportunities. An example was making products with pulverised marble, which was obtained from their quarry near the top of the Takaka Hill. As Guy said of his father: “Without his business acumen and foresight, I am sure we would never have got off the ground”.
Guy McKee
Guy McKee became Production Manager at the Māpua factory. With his practical experience of orchard work, he contributed to the development of weed and pest control in the form of seed spreaders, sheep dipping and drenching, and also the development of coated seeds. Fred McKee(Artie’s son) contributed as well to the F.C.C. team in these developments.
Tas McKee was F.C.C.’s first industrial chemist. Eventually he became Managing Director for these two companies which, by the 1970’s, had expanded to include nine New Zealand wide subsidiaries.
In 1932, Arthur gifted this microscope to Tas for his 21st birthday when he had just graduated with a B.Sc. in chemistry and geology. He started using this microscope, to check particle size distribution in liquid suspensions of sulphur and other fungicides or insecticides. [Photo: Tas at work in the “old shed”]
Tas McKee in laboratory
Tas McKee with microscope
Eventually, in 1949, Tas and his then co-researcher Laurie Brown applied for a patent covering U.S.A, Canada, U.K. and New Zealand, for a continuous colloidal reduction process. This patent was awarded in 1956, giving a big boost for F.C.C. which received royalties for overseas manufacture under license.
Prospecting
In the early 1950s, spurred on by Prime Minister Sidney Holland’s statement, reflecting the popular view at the time that New Zealand had little significant mineral deposits, Tas and the Team worked to widen the general public’s understanding of New Zealand’s resources. Over the next twenty years, Lime and Marble Ltd and its subsidiaries became involved in a range of mineral exploration and development projects, pioneering the use of helicopters to reach remote areas, drawing on overseas technical expertise and forming joint ventures with foreign companies.
Oil exploration
In 1966 when Tas was awarded an O.B.E. for his pioneering work in mineral exploration and development, he emphasised the Team’s part in this. Professor Gordon Williams (Dept. of Mines, University of Otago) said later of Tas: “ He uniquely combined scientific approaches with energy, foresight and business judgement, so as to bring about a practical awareness of our mineral resources”
In the mid 1960s, Lime and Marble ventured into oil exploration, with a quarter share in Tasman Petroleum This led to the formation of a public company, L & M. Oil (N.Z.). In the early 1970s, gas and condensate were discovered at Urenui, Taranaki. After his death, a promising nearby site was named in Tas McKee’s honour, and in 1980 commercial quantities of oil were discovered there.
Tas, along with the scientists working at Port Māpua during the 1940s to 1970s, had established good working relationships with some government scientific institutions such as the D.S.I.R., Agricultural Chemicals Board, Cawthron Institute, also the local Research Orchard in Redwood Valley. Being open to generally accepted contemporary scientific research, as context of the times, was important for Tas, Guy and the Team, for the development of F.C.C. and Lime and Marble projects.
Exploration of minerals
In 1971 two years before his death, Tas was appointed to the Environmental Council. By then he was becoming increasingly concerned that persistent agricultural chemicals could no longer be used. He was also gaining fresh insights about mineral development needing to balance with conservation. In 1972, in what turned out to be his last public address, to the Royal Society of New Zealand, Tas concluded: “The community must set the standards”
In 1973, Tas died suddenly in March. Guy was due to retire in November 1973 from his position as Production Manager. In August that same year, the family business was sold to Transport Nelson Ltd. By 1980 the business was sold to B.P. and then to other public companies later.
No longer were F.C.C and Lime & Marble managed by people who were part of the Māpua community. The growth of Māpua as a seaside village became incompatible with an expanding chemical factory. So with the local community setting the standards, in 1988 the companies shut down.
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Today, Port Māpua is a vibrant community hub. The land has been restored to become an open green space connected to the shore of the Waimea estuary, with trade flourishing in the cafes and shops nearby.
Part of the McKee legacy still remains. In December 1968, Tas and Guy with extended McKee family support had established the McKee Trust, with the intention of recognising the numerous contributions of the Team, former staff who had worked at the companies from the 1930s until 1988. The McKee Trust is unique in New Zealand, as the remaining staff still receive an annual bonus, and every December they gather together for a Christmas Lunch.
If you would like to discuss making an application for a grant, please contact:
katie@kjaccountancy.nz
Trust Secretary, Katie Johnston
Please note, however, that this website is for information purposes for our tertiary scholarship students only and your email inquiry may or may not be responded to.
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