Reference NumberARC-0603CreatorH.E. Shacklock LimitedDescriptionThe collection includes business papers (notably a ledger of 1880-1893), photocopies of early patents, a limited number of catalogues and manuals, and a copy of John H. Angus's history of H.E. Shacklock Ltd with accompanying annotations. In addition, the collection includes photographs and negatives of a variety of Shacklock products (particularly of the 1920s and 1930s) and also of staff and premises.
Only a small part of this collection is digitised and available through Digital Collections. Information about other items can be found on the Hākena catalogue, through the Library Catalogues link above.History / BiographyH.E. Shacklock Ltd was a manufacturing firm known principally for its coal and electric ranges or cooking stoves. The business was established in Dunedin by Henry Ely Shacklock sometime around the end of 1871 and it soon became successful for producing the 'Orion', a coal range designed to suit New Zealand conditions. The 'Orion' with successive improvements formed the basis of the company in the following decades, but the firm also manufactured a range of other products (some also with the name 'Orion'), including destructors, marine engines, fire grates, and ornamental ironwork. In the 1920s Shacklocks expanded into electricity, producing New Zealand's first series of electric ranges and a variety of home appliances, such as hotplates and heaters. In the 1950s, however, the market entered a new age of sophisticated electrification to which Shacklocks struggled to adapt, and in 1955 the firm went into partnership with Fisher & Paykel Ltd. The new relationship led to a recovery in the company's fortunes in the 1960s which saw the Shacklock brand regain its dominance in the domestic cooking range market. In 1973, the centenary of Henry Shacklock's first range, the Shacklock family retained half of the company's shares, but in 1981 the business became a wholly owned subsidiary of Fisher & Paykel.
(From: John H. Angus, 'The Ironmasters - The First One Hundred Years of H.E. Shacklock Limited', Dunedin, 1973; and: http://www.businesshistory.auckland.ac.nz/fisher_paykel/timeline.html)