However, these resources are soon to be relocated to allow for the redevelopment of the National Library in Wellington City.
By Tim O?Connell
The race is on for one local historian to get the guts of the information he needs to document one of the village?s great examples of early industry. With books on the Petone Foreshore and the Griffins factory completed and in circulation, author Warwick Johnston has already begun work on his next project-a detailed history of the Gear Meat Company. However, while resources and anecdotes about the company are plentiful within Petone and the Wellington region, getting hold of them before time runs out is a concern for Mr Johnston. With over 2500 photos relating to the Gear works amongst 15 square metres of archive material in the Alexander Turnbull Library, he says there is certainly no shortage of information available. However, these resources are soon to be relocated to allow for the redevelopment of the National Library in Wellington City. It is anticipated that the relocation will take place between 2009 and 2012 which means Mr Johnston may encounter some difficulty accessing some vital information for his project. ?I saw something in the paper that said some of it was going up to Auckland and I just thought ?No-not that stuff, please!? The Gear Meat Works were an integral part of the local economy, providing frozen meat for export between the late 19th and early 20th century. Mr Johnston admits that finding people to give personal accounts of their own or a relative?s experience may also present a challenge. ?The Gear people are slowly dying, so getting hold of these stories is becoming more and more difficult as we go on.? With the clock ticking, Mr Johnston is nonetheless intent on moving ahead with the research, with a release date for the book?s completion being at least two years away.
