Image: Chelsea Sugar Refinery, Birkenhead, 1885

Description: Chelsea Sugar Refinery soon after it had been built in 1884. Mother and child (possibly Mrs Speedy, wife of the engineer at the Refinery) pose with the Refinery as a backdrop. The excavation done with horses and scoop for the building site can be seen. Duck Creek in right foreground before it was dammed. Historical note: The building of the sugar refinery from 1883-84 was a huge enterprise in itself. One hundred and fifty men were employed under the Scots Australian Edwin Muir, who was to be the first general manager, and who had supervised the construction of some of the world's largest refineries. The workmen began with picks and shovels to scoop out the high headland and to level five acres for the refinery buildings. A kiln was built, and one and a half million bricks were moulded from the clay which had been shifted in the excavations, a half million for the construction of two dams, and one million for the four-storeyed buildings. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections B0061
Title: Chelsea Sugar Refinery, Birkenhead, 1885
Credit: https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/30938
Author: Unknown
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No