{{Short description|Former ironworks in New Zealand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox mine | name = Onekaka Ironworks | image = Golden Bay 720.jpg | width = 250px | caption = | pushpin_map = New Zealand | pushpin_label = Onekaka Ironworks | pushpin_map_caption = Location in New Zealand | coordinates = {{coord|40|46|7|S|172|42|6|E|region:AM-SU|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | place = [[Onekaka]] | subdivision_type = [[Administrative divisions of New Zealand|Territorial authority]] | state/province = [[Tasman District]] | country = New Zealand | products = Iron | amount = | opening year = {{Start date|1924}} | closing year = {{end date|1935}} | owner = | embedded = {{designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NZ Category II |designation1_number=[https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/5120/Onekaka%20Ironworks%20Quarries%20and%20Hydro-electric%20Power%20Scheme 5120] |designation1_date=1 January 2022}} }} '''Onekaka Iron and Steel''' was first floated in 1921 with the works becoming operational in 1924 and only ceasing operation in 1935. The ironworks used the [[limonite]] ore from nearby to make iron. To smelt the iron, coal and limestone were also necessary<ref name="engineers">{{cite web |title=Onekakā Iironworks |url=https://www.engineeringnz.org/programmes/heritage/heritage-records/onekak%C4%81-ironworks |access-date=10 February 2024 |website=www.engineeringnz.org |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114003312/https://www.engineeringnz.org/programmes/heritage/heritage-records/onekak%C4%81-ironworks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and both limestone and the limonite were mined from the hills behind the works and ferried to the works 2.4 km away,<ref name=":1" /> in buckets via an aerial ropeway.<ref name="engineers" /> Coal had originally been planned to come from the [[Mataura]] field, but was eventually sourced from [[Westport, New Zealand|Westport]].{{sfn|Dawber|Win|2008|pages=81–118}}
[[File:Onekaka proposed development (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Proposed development for Onekaka (published in 1937 by ''[[NZ Truth]]'')]] When the industrial use of the iron ore in nearby [[Parapara, Tasman|Parapara]] was first considered in the early 1900s, it was envisaged to build a wharf north of Tukurua Point.<ref>{{cite news |title=Parapara iron ore |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19070816.2.19 |access-date=6 March 2024 |work=[[Nelson Evening Mail]] |volume=XLII |issue=XLII |date=16 August 1907 |page=2 |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323063806/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19070816.2.19 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Parapara iron ore had since the 1870s been used for making red paint, with a tram eventually connecting to a wharf.{{sfn|Dawber|Win|2008|pages=40–43}}
Skilton's wharf on the Onekaka Inlet was used to deliver building materials and equipment to build the ironworks in Onekaka,{{sfn|Dawber|Win|2008|pages=81–118}} and take away the finished product.<ref name=":1" /> However, in 1923 the company was granted permission to build a pier 365 metres long from Onekaka Beach to deep water.<ref name=":1" /> A tramline was built in 1924, running 2.6 kilometres from the wharf to the ironworks. This crossed the inlet on raised trestles, and passed under the highway.<ref name=":1" /> In 1928–29, [[Onekaka Power Station|a hydro-electric scheme]] was built to power the pipe-making plant.<ref name=":1" />
The blast furnace was able to produce 10,000 tons of iron per year, outrunning local demand,{{sfn|Dawber|Win|2008|pages=81–118}} and produced over 81,000 tons of iron between 1922 and 1935.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Heritage New Zealand: Onekaka Ironworks Wharf and Tramline Piles |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/5126/Onekaka%2520Ironworks%2520Wharf%2520and%2520Tramline%2520Piles |access-date=10 February 2024 |website=[[Heritage New Zealand]] |language=en-NZ |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213005106/https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/5126/Onekaka%20Ironworks%20Wharf%20and%20Tramline%20Piles |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the plant could not compete with overseas iron and by 1930 the market for iron pipes had also collapsed. By 1931, the company was in receivership, closing in 1935.<ref name="engineers" />
in 1938, the government acquired the ironworks<ref>{{Cite web |title=A general viewof the Onekaka Ironworks, which are to be run as a Slate enterprise. A special empowering Bill was passed by Parliament at the conclusion of the recent session to enable.this to be done |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19380318.2.54.6 |access-date=10 February 2024 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323063645/https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19380318.2.54.6 |url-status=live }}</ref> and there were proposals to revive them, but efforts to revive the works ceased in 1954.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heritage New Zealand: Onekaka Ironworks Quarries and Hydro-electric Power Scheme |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/5120/Onekaka%20Ironworks%20Quarries%20and%20Hydro-electric%20Power%20Scheme |access-date=10 February 2024 |publisher=[[Heritage New Zealand]] |language=en-NZ |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323063806/https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/5120/Onekaka%20Ironworks%20Quarries%20and%20Hydro-electric%20Power%20Scheme |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Heritage == [[Onekaka Ironworks Wharf and Tramline Piles]] have been declared part of New Zealand's cultural heritage, which has "significance as a poignant physical link to an ambitious iron mining and smelting scheme".<ref name=":1" />
==Gallery== <gallery> Onekaka_Wharf_93.jpg|Remnants of the Onekaka wharf Golden Bay 718.jpg Golden Bay 724.jpg </gallery>
==See also== *[[Mining in New Zealand]]
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *{{Cite book |last1=Dawber |first1=Carol |last2=Win |first2=Cheryl |title=Between the Ports: Collingwood to Waitapu |publisher=River Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-9582779-1-4 |location=Picton}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Onekakā Ironworks}}<br> {{Commons category-inline|Onekaka Wharf}}
Images from the [[National Library of New Zealand|Alexander Turnbull Library]] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23203015 Mrs. D.I. Bruere: Photographs of Onekaka Iron and Steel Company Ltd] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22845811?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=PAColl2253-33 Terminus of the ore ropeway at the furnace] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22333555?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=pacOLL2253-01-1 Materials in trolley ready for the furnace] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23226159?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=PAColl2253-36 Drawing coke] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23091870?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=PAColl2253-45 Power generation from the Onekaka dam] *[https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23050713?search%5Bpath%5D=items&search%5Btext%5D=F-029351-1%2F2 Clydesday pulling a cart of molten iron]
{{Tasman District}}
[[Category:Industrial buildings in New Zealand]] [[Category:1924 establishments in New Zealand]] [[Category:Mining in New Zealand]] [[Category:1935 disestablishments in New Zealand]]