Albert James Allom (1825-1909).

 

Came to NZ in 1842 as a survey cadet. Settled at Wairarapa in partnership with John Tully. Went to England in 1848, returned to NZ in 1861 as manager and agent of the Great Barrier Land, Harbour and Mining Company. When this went into liquidation in 1867, he went to Thames and held various appointments. Page 8-11 of his Autobiography refers to the Great Barrier.

 

Autobiography of Albert J. Allom.

PP 8-11.  1861-1868.

 

            An intimate friend (Mr. Phillip Wright), a former NZ colonist, resident in London, hearing of my inclination to return to NZ, proposed that I should go out as General Manager and Agent of “The Great Barrier Island [Land],Harbour and Mining Company, Limited” (of which Company he was an influential Director), carrying on operations at the Great Barrier Island, about 50 miles north of Auckland, NZ., the head office being in London. I applied for the appointment, and my references being satisfactory, at once obtained it.

            With my wife and family I landed for the second time in NZ (at Auckland), on the [16^th ]  December, 1861, after a fine passage of [97] days in the ship “Mermaid”. Shortly after my arrival the then Col. Secretary, Mr. Fox, (now Sir William Fox) whom I had had the pleasure knowing in former days at Wellington, was good enough to place my name on the Commission of the Peace for the Colony.

            The Shareholders of The Great Barrier Company, after my departure from England, formed themselves into a second, and separate company, for the special purpose of working the Copper Mine on the Great Barrier Company’s property, under the title of “The Otea Copper Mining Company Limited”, and I was also appointed Manager and Agent of that Company.

            During the whole of the time that I represented these Companies, I resided on Great Barrier Island. Under my management and superintendence, in order to utilize an extensive Kauri forest, a large sawmill worked by steam engine of sixty horsepower was erected and carried on, and a very extensive mining plant with the newest description of copper ore dressing machinery, was also erected at the Mine. Thousands of acres of heavy bush land were cleared and laid down in English grasses, the land being too hilly to be used for any other purpose. All this was done in accordance with instructions from time to time received by me from home. Our operations in sheep, cattle, and wool, with timber and copper ore became extensive. But we had not made many shipments of ore when both Companies were compelled to suspend operations from want of money. Before leaving England, I had been cautioned as to this by Sir Charles Clifford (formerly Speaker of the NZ House of Representatives, and a partner with my friend Mr. Weld in several sheep stations), then and now resident in London. In fact, had I taken Sir Charles Clifford’s advice, who told me that everyone who had been connected with the Barrier property had come to grief, I should have remained in London. I found out, however, that I had been misled as to the power of the two Companies to command sufficient funds. They had commenced with too little capital, and that was to a very great extent absorbed in the original purchase of the land (about 28,000 acres), and in the cost of the too elaborate and expensive saw-mill and mining plants, which had been sent out from England. So much was this the case that I have sometimes wondered whether the promoters of similar Companies are not often interested in the sale of such machinery and plant. I suspect it was so in the cases of the Companies I represented.

            I carried on at the last, to the best of my ability, without funds from home upon my own personal credit. But the financial crisis of 1867 put a stop to this.

            The discovery in that year, of rich auriferous quartz reefs at the Thames, not more than fifty miles distant from the Barrier, took away our miners and other available labour, and so contributed to hasten the downfall of these Companies. Nothing remained for me to do but to pay the Company’s debts by turning all stock and movable property into money, and then let them go in to liquidation at home.

 

 

Shipping Intelligence

Port of Auckland

Entered Inwards

Foreign

16 Mermaid ship 1233 tons, Henry Rose, from London.

 

Arrival of the Mermaid.

….The Mermaid left Gravesend on the 4^th September and took her final departure from the Start Point  on Tuesday September 10^th…

Passwengers

….Mr and Mrs Allom, family, and nurse…

Source: Daily Southern Cross 17 December 1861. Page 3.