Colonial Ammunition Company

The Colonial Ammunition Company (CAC) was an ammunition manufacturer in Auckland, New Zealand. Its predecessor, Whitney & Sons, was established by John Whitney with government encouragement in 1885 during the Russian Scare.[1] Whitney later recruited investors to expand his factory in 1888. The other shareholders were Messrs Greenwood and Batley, of Leeds (owners of the Greenwood & Batley cartridge company); T. Hall, Esq., of Mount Morgan; J. D' Arcey, Esq.; Captain de Lusada, R.N.; J. Clarke, Esq.; and T.Y. Cartwright of Notts. They formed the Colonial Ammunition Company, the first ordnance manufacturer in Australasia.

A view of the Auckland works of the Colonial Ammunition Company

Components were made in New Zealand and Australia, shipped to England, and then assembled at the Greenwood & Batley plant in Leeds. The finished cartridges were then shipped back to Australia and New Zealand for sale. It later expanded in other business directions from 1925 on.

.303 British cartridge (Mk VII) FMJ, manufactured by CAC in 1945

In the Second World War, it was New Zealand's only industrial manufacturer of ammunition (having temporarily increased its workforce from 230 to 900), with production in countries like Australia having long since overtaken the small size of the New Zealand market for ammunition.[2][3][4]

Facilities
Women working at the Colonial Ammunition Company facilities in Mount Eden during World War I

The company operated extensive facilities in Mount Eden, a central suburb of Auckland (originally on the outskirts of the city). The area is now mostly taken up by commercial redevelopment. The only remaining original facility is the compact but massive bluestone building now used as a bar / restaurant.[5]

The shot tower at Mount Eden, with the bluestone building at the left.

The company built a rare steel-frame shot tower in 1914 for the creation of lead pellets.[1] Used in the shotgun shells of New Zealand hunters, they had previously been imported, mainly from the United Kingdom. The tower was erected by local blacksmiths W. Wilson and Company,[1] and initially operated by Mr. Lylie with his two daughters (who had previously been supplying CAC with limited quantities of shot from Nelson). The 30-metre drop allowed the tower to produce a maximum of 1,000 tons of shot per year.[1] The tower remained in profitable operation until after World War II when it allowed the company to keep production levels high after military ammunition requirements dropped off again. The tower was the only 20th-century shot tower in Australasia and was the only remaining shot tower in New Zealand. The CAC vacated the premises in the early 1980s,[5] however the tower was saved from destruction after popular protests. In 1983, it was classified as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand.[5] It was demolished in 2023 after concerns it would collapse due to Cyclone Gabrielle.[6][7]

Following the entry of the Japanese Empire into the Second World War, there was concern that the site at Mount Eden would be too exposed to a coastal attack. In light of this, the production of munitions was transferred to Hamilton. After the equipment was relocated and buildings constructed and manufacturing at a site on Dey Street, production commenced in June 1942. The facility was closed after the end of the war and equipment and production were transferred back to Mount Eden.[8]

Colonial Ammunition Company, Ltd. (Australia)

This factory was built in 1888 in Australia at Footscray, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. It was founded by Captain John Whitney of CAC New Zealand in a joint venture with several of English partners and was a separate entity from the commercial New Zealand company. The Australian government leased the facility from CAC on 1 January 1921 and bought the facility outright in 1927 and renamed it the Small Arms Ammunition Factory No.1. Five other facilities were briefly opened during World War 2: a new factory at Footscray (SAAF No. 2), two more built at Hendon (SAAF No. 3 & No. 4), one built at Rocklea (SAAF No. 5), and one built at Welshpool (SAAF No. 6). The SAAF No. 1 facility was finally closed in 1945 and was replaced by the nearby SAAF No.2 facility. The facility is now more commonly known as Ammunition Factory Footscray (AFF).[9]

References
  1. Bartley, Bryan (2011). "Mt Eden Shot Tower". In La Roche, John (ed.). Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage. Wily Publications. pp. 226–228. ISBN 9781927167038.
  2. Munitions (from War Economy - Baker, J. V. T., Historical Publications Branch, Wellington, 1965. Via New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Accessed 2008-03-18.)
  3. Colonial Ammunition Company (X2283) (from the National Register of Archives and Manuscripts, New Zealand. Accessed 2008-03-18.)
  4. Colonial ammunition company I B Normanby Road Archived 2008-09-19 at the Wayback Machine (from the Auckland City Council website. Accessed 2008-03-18.)
  5. "Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  6. "Cyclone-hit Auckland tower to be demolished after fears it would collapse". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  7. "Demolition of Colonial Ammunition Company Shot Tower to begin Tuesday". Auckland Council. 20 February 2023.
  8. "WWII Munitions Factory in Hamilton". DigitalNZ. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  9. Footscray Ammunition Factory, Maribyrnong, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1154

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