The above-ground section of this building was constructed for the Ridd Co. Ltd in 1947. A building permit was issued to Ridd Co. Ltd. on 19 February 1947 for business premises on Town Section 625 with an estimated cost of £5,578. The contractor was listed as A.L. Robertson & Son.
However, the basement of this building was constructed much earlier in 1876 and originally formed part of a grain store for the Union Mill. Later, it was purchased by the Crown Dairy Company who finally disposed of the property in 1945 to the Ridd Company, whose reputation had been built on their popular milking machine.
The basement is mostly constructed of large andesite blocks, with the front wall constructed of concrete, and thought to have been added in 1947.
The early history of the building is detailed in Robyn Oliver's 1988 thesis, The Flour Mills of Taranaki, 1844-1935: A small industry forgotten. (TRCT664.72 OLI)
Related items:
Town Section 625, Taranaki Land Deed Index I5 page 19. (Archives New Zealand)
Taranaki DP1293 Sheet 1 (1899), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Corn Milling: Old Taranaki Industry, (Taranaki Herald 10 July 1947)
New premises rise in New Plymouth where millstones ground out flour (New Zealand Freelance 17 March 1948)
Ridd Residence (Puke Ariki)
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