Ross & Glendining and the Development of the New Zealand Woollen and Worsted Industries before 1914

Abstract

Cyclical downturns and heavy unemployment from the 1860s onwards encouraged the New Zealand government to foster the development of industry in order to promote economic stability. The woollen and worsted industry was a beneficiary of bonuses and tariffs, and by the turn of the century there were ten mills at work. Although not the first mover, the dominant firm in the industry was that of Ross & Glendining. Initially a major importer of clothing and textiles, this firm integrated backwards into woollen manufacturing to take advantage of growing markets. The success of the firm was partly due to the considerable mercantile wealth of the partners and their access to an extensive distributional network. More important, perhaps, was their enterprise and their willingness to innovate even under the most adverse conditions. This present article exploits a hitherto little used archive in order to provide a unique insight into the ways in which two Scottish entrepreneurs took advantage of that environment to create the basis for what was to become the country's largest manufacturing enterprise.