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History Throughout most of the nineteenth century, all sugar products in New Zealand had to be imported; wishing to improve New Zealand's self-sufficiency, in 1882 the [|Government] offered a bounty to the first company to produce sugar locally. Already interested in business prospects in New Zealand, the [|Australian] [|Colonial Sugar Refining Company] had investigated possible sites in New Zealand and purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2) of farm land in Birkenhead. This was later expanded to 450 acres (1.8 km2). The site was ideal for a refinery: the Waitemata offered deep water close to shore for a port, there was plentiful fresh water from Duck Creek, which ran through the estate, and there was plenty of land and timber for building purposes. The name "Chelsea" was bestowed on the site by the refinery's first customs officer, who named it after [|Chelsea] in [|England], his hometown. || I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the [|public domain]. This applies worldwide.
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 *  || This is a file from the [|Wikimedia Commons]. The description on its [|**description page there**] is shown below.

This is a boat collecting the sugar to take to .eg.( Cadburys chocolate factories) ** New Zealand Sugar Company established ** The "New Zealand Sugar Company" was formed in June 1883 by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, the Victorian Sugar Company, and a number of prominent Auckland businessmen, including [|Sir Frederick Whitaker], [|Allan Kerr Taylor], LD Nathan (of [|Lion Nathan]) and AG Horton and JL Wilson (of [|Wilson & Horton]). However, a collapse in the world sugar market in the 1880s led the New Zealand Sugar Company to be re-amalgamated into its parent company Colonial Sugar in 1888. In 1959, the present New Zealand Sugar Company was formed to allow local autonomy.  <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-decoration: none; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The original 1884 building, seen here on the right, is still used today, and forms the basis for the [|company logo] <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-decoration: none; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Built in 1909, the row of brick workers' cottages are little changed today **<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Model village ** <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">As work on the refinery began, the managers and company officers were able to adapt the existing farm cottages on the estate for their use, but the majority of workers lived in tents and temporary dwellings near the building site. This shanty town was replaced by Chelsea Village, which consisted of 35 cottages provided by the company within the grounds, some distance from the existing Birkenhead village. Planned to be a [|model town], it provided gardens, a church, reading room, school and shop. [|[6]]<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> However, the village did not remain for many years; the lower houses suffered from dampness and were unoccupied by the early 1890s, and by 1900 it was known as the "barracks" and occupied mainly by single men. In 1905 the village was condemned by the health authorities and the worst of the houses were demolished; the rest were sold and shifted from the site. Some of the relocated cottages can still be seen in the older streets around Birkenhead, and the church, now known as St Peters, was moved to Verrans Corner (a local suburb). [|[8]]<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Desiring its core tradesmen to remain on site, in case of emergencies, the company built four [|semi-detached] brick houses in 1909 on the site of the old Chelsea Village. [|[8]]<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> These houses remain in Cheslea's ownership but are now rented to private individuals. [|[9]]<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> For the remaining workers, the company offered inexpensive housing loans, which financed the building of over a third of Birkenhead's new houses between 1910 and 1926, mainly in the streets surrounding the refinery, including Colonial Road (named after the original sugar company) and Huka Road (after the Maori name for sugar). [|[] <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">

// Main article: //[|//Birkenhead, New Zealand//]
Before the opening of Auckland's [|Harbour Bridge] in 1959, access to the [|North Shore] from the City was restricted to transport by ferry. While some residents commuted to the city, most of the development of the area was determined by local employment; thus, Chelsea was a leading proponent and determinent in the growth of Birkenhead and provided a focal point for the community. With Chelsea as the major employer, Birkenhead was considered by many to be a 'company town'. [|[13]] In 1900, when the borough's population was 1000, one-third of the men worked at the refinery; local farmers and orchadists relied on casual labour in their off-season. [|[4]] Before the establishment of the sugar works, the area consisted of farms and orchards, with a small village beside Birkenhead Wharf; within four years of the refinery's opening, Birkenhead had become a [|borough]. [|[13]] The burgeoning town grew up the hill towards Chelsea Village, with a group of shops established at Highbury, between the two original villages. Most of the local shops were supported by business from Chelsea and its workers,and workers became involved in local community affairs, including the offices of mayor and councillor. The shift sirens could be heard throughout Birkenhead and served as a 'clock' for all <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-decoration: none; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> The current [|Golden Syrup] tin displays an illustration of the 19th C refinery, a design reflected in the company logo shown on the White Sugar packaging <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-decoration: none; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-decoration: none; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-NZ; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: #ff33cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">One of the footpaths leading through the grounds