Interesting Collectables of New Zealand
Souvenir China, Mineral Water Bottles & history, Antique Telephones.

Lane & Co, Dunedin

In 1861 a partnership was established between Baker & Kilner to establish an aerated water business In McLaggan St, Dunedin which they sold to Charles Reeves in 1863.

In 1865 William Lane (who had arrived as an immigrant on the ship Crimea in 1861 with his wife & son) became an employee of Reeves & Co and in 1875, in partnership with William Campbell purchased that business. The partnership was of short duration and within the same year W Lane & Co was formed. William Lane was joined in due course by his 3 sons, Josiah Pearce (Joe), William (Bill), and Frederick. Joe joined his father in 1879 when he was just 18 years old and had an association with the company for over 60 years.

When Joe, or JP as he became known in the trade, first started his job was to collect the whiting and hand it out the back door to the housewifes who used to come & collect it. It was a prized product, more especially so because it was free. The used whiting was a by-product of the CO2 generation and was in great demand for whitening coal ranges & stoves.

At some stage the firm moved to Clarke St and in 1920 the firm moved to Carroll St. In 1952 the company had again outgrown the premises and shifted to Gt King St. At that stage the company was producing 5,000,000 bottles of sogt drink a year. At the centenial (which was dated from Baker & Kilners establishment in 1861) it is said the company had grown 100% since the shift 10 years earlier. Again in 1967 the company was finding itself short of space and once again a shift was planned. This time it was to an industrial complex on newly reclaimed land at Andersons Bay.