History

Farra Legacy Begins

Joseph and Janet Farra arrived in Dunedin from Melbourne with their two sons in 1862. Growth in Dunedin had rapidly increased following the discovery of Gold in the Tuapeka River near Lawrence in 1861. Joseph saw the demand for housing and household goods and quickly responded by setting up as a tinsmith, japanner, and spouting and colonial oven manufacturer in early 1863. A workshop and showroom was opened at 25 Stafford Street in 1882, followed by a rebuild and expansion in 1890. Joseph and Janet's sons, Thomas, James and youngest son Charles, took over the business and it was renamed Farra Bros. Joseph Farra died in 1907 aged 78, his sons all died in their 50’s, and former Farra foreman, James Wheeler, took over the business in 1917.

Dunedin Engineering and Steel

The Dunedin Engineering and Steel Company dates back to 1865 when Robert Spiers Sparrow, a boilermaker from Scotland, set up business in Dunedin. Sparrow built ships, railway wagons, boilers and all manner of factory and mining machinery. By 1874 his firm had grown to be one of the city’s major engineering operations with over 80 workers employed by the late 1880s, responsible for the fabrication of the Wingatui railway viaduct. A steel foundry began operation in 1898, with a high demand for speciality steel casting work by the company. The Dunedin Engineering and Steel Company were the builders behind the SS ‘Tawera’ launched in March 1899 and carried tourists for Sutherland Falls and Milford Sound. The largest boiler yet made in New Zealand was constructed by The Dunedin Engineering and Steel Company in 1906 for the Otago Harbour Board’s tug ‘Koputai’. In the late 1950’s and 60’s the company were responsible for the manufacturing of the steel prefermenters for Speights, as well as the 180’ high acid plant chimney, elevators, vessels and ductwork for Dominion Fertiliser at Ravensbourne. The company became part of Farra Engineering in 1969 and is the origin of Farra’s casting division.

In 1983, Farra Engineering designed and built two cranes, the 6-tonne Goliath crane used for handling and placing stop log screens at the Waihonohu diversion, and the 15-tonne class 3 double trolley EOT crane used by NZ Forest Products in handling up to 350 tonnes of paper reels a day. The combined sale value of the two cranes was in excess of $250,000.

Farra Engineering built two huge electronic overhead cranes in 1984 for the Clyde dam powerhouse. The two cranes could be combined by a 20-tonne beam to give a total lifting capacity of 300 tonnes.

By 1989, Farra Engineering had established their new product, building maintenance units (BMUs), providing external access to high rise buildings. After installing their first BMU on Dunedin’s Westpac building, Farra Engineering built and designed two 5m by 5m BMUs for external maintenance of Auckland’s National Bank Centre. Worth around $500,000 each, these specially made units had onboard computers and could carry up to 300 kg each.

In 2009 Farra made the decision to exit from our casting business, selling it to an Australian business who continued operating from that site, allowing us to focus on finishing and value-added  processes

The big 150!

In 2013 Farra Engineering celebrated 150 years of continuous operation. To mark the occasion they commissioned a book "Forged by Farra" chronicling the colourful history of the company

Farra wanted to expand their light engineering business, and took the opportunity to buy a Christchurch based manufacturer called Shape NZ. Shape opened up new market segments in Australia as well as adding expertise in production manufacturing. Having branches in Christchurch and Dunedin gave Farra the dominant position within the Sheetmetal industry in the South Island 

2018 saw the combination of the Farra Divisions into one Farra, streamlining our systems and creating our specialised areas of operation; Light Engineering, Heavy Engineering, and Design Innovation.

Looking to enhance Farra's Architectural metalwork capabilities, Farra took the opportunity to combine Architectural Engineering NZ (AE) into the Farra Family.

With 17 years' experience in the Architectural Metalwork space, AE will help amplify our capacity to complete unique, stunning pieces of architectural engineering.

Over the past sixteen years the engineering sector in Dunedin (and New Zealand) has changed considerably. Globalisation has seen many major manufacturers move production offshore. But in its place we have seen a rise in demand for high-end, high-value, niche machinery and products which can still be made competitively in New Zealand, born from the innovation and high quality that are synonymous with New Zealand. 

156 years later we have moved on a long way from tinsmithing! But Farra are proud to still be in the hands of the original families, and proud that we remain at the forefront of the engineering industry in New Zealand