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Kempthorne Prosser & Co. Ltd, also known as the New Zealand Drug Company Ltd, was the leading drug and fertiliser manufacturer in New Zealand from 1863 until 1978. Their complete name was Kempthorne Prosser & Co.'s New Zealand Drug Co. Ltd.

File:File:Dunedin 08 029.JPG

KP Dunedin HQ dating from 1870's in 2008-09

Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne and Evan Prosser entered into business together in 1863 as chemists. They set up Kempthorne Prosser, which became a limited liability company in 1878. The head office was set up on Stafford Street in City Rise, Dunedin. In 1904 Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne retired and moved from Dunedin.

In early 1881 the NZ Government offered a bonus for three years to any company that would manufacture 50 tons of sulphuric acid per year. KP's NZ Drug Company was the first in the country to combine sulphuric acid and bone dust to produce superphosphate. The Burnside Chemical Works in Dunedin were the first of their type in New Zealand. Kempthorne Prosser constructed further superphosphate plants in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wanganui. From this stemmed a major chemical fertiliser industry, of national importance to the agricultural and pastoral economy. For almost a century 'K. P.' was to dominate the market. Prosser resigned from the company in 1886 and went to Australia before committing suicide.

By the mid-1970s, some New Zealand farmers decided it was time to take control of the fertiliser industry, and established a new company, the Ravensdown Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd. With help from Brierley Investments and producer board funds it acquired Kempthorne Prosser in 1978, and Kempthorne Prosser exited the market.

Chemical works and buildings

In 1870 the firm erected its first premises, on Stafford Street, City Rise, Dunedin. This row of three joint buildings still stand today on the lower reaches of the street, below the Sew Hoy Building, which was the Kempthorne Prosser laboratory from 1900 until the 1960s. Directly opposite the former laboratories is the office that Kempthorne Prosser occupied during the 1970s, built to replace the earlier structures.

The Burnside Chemical Works in Kaikorai Valley Road, Dunedin was the first Kempthorne Prosser factory to be set up. It operated until 1962, when it was sold to Dominion Fertiliser Ltd, and has since been demolished. The second plant, the Westfield Chemical Works in Bell Avenue, Otahuhu, Auckland, operated from 1887. It was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for a factory subdivision.

The Hornby Chemical Works in Hornby, Christchurch, was opened in 1922, and the Wanganui Chemical Works, Burnswick Road, Aramoho, was opened in 1926. Both are still used by Ravensdown Fertiliser.

Kempthorne Prosser also had non-factory buildings in three main centres. Offices in Albert Street, Auckland, were occupied by the company until 1973 (the building was demolished in 1982). An ornate warehouse on the corner of Willeston and Victoria streets in Wellington was demolished in 1978 to make way for a Wellington City Council car park building. There were further premises in High Street, Christchurch.

23-25 Albert Street Auckland

Built: 1899 Demolished: June 1982

-Description of the building-

The front facing Albert Street was a cement stucco finish until 1952/53 when it was painted a duck egg blue colour as part of the city tidy up for the Royal Visit..

The entrance, when the building was built, was on the right hand side but in the 1930’s it was moved to the centre. Two brass plates were fixed either side of the entranceway when in the centre. They read, on the left “Westfield Chemical Works” and on the right, “Kempthorne Prosser & Co’s New Zealand Drug Co. Ltd”. In about 1950, it was moved back to the right hand side as a consequence of the installation of a passenger lift with the moving of the offices to the third floor. In about 1960, one sign was disposed of and one was amended to read KEMPTHORNE PROSSER & CO LTD.

Kempthorne Prosser’s warehouse staff hours were 8:00am to 4:45pm with 45 minutes for lunch. The office worked 37 ½ hours, 8:30am to 12:00 and 12:45 to 4:45pm. Before and during World War Two the employees also worked on Saturday mornings. The Saturday hours were 8:50am to 11:45am.

The ground floor was offices, housing the Manager, Assistant Manager, the Accountant and the Shipping and Customs Manager. In the 1960’s there were roughly five typists, two ledger machine operators on Burroughs Machines, four Burroughs Calculator operators, a receptionist, an accountants payable and an accountants receivable/cashier, accountant and assistant accountant. The work was all manual in those days. There were about 5000 invoices in 1973 when the turnover for the month reached $1,000,000.

KEMPTHORNE PROSSER had a Tobacco licence prior to the 1970’s.

KEMPTHORNE PROSSER’s Dangerous Goods Store was also known as the Flammables Store and the Oil Store, which was on the right hand side of their cart dock at ground level.

Overall the KEMPTHORNE PROSSER Albert St Building employed well over fifty people. The old timers would spend every lunchtime next door at the Star & New Criterion Hotels.

Before Albert Street was built KP operated from two other locations. One was in Emily Place and the other about where A. H. Nathan Ltd were in Customs Street East opposite the end of Gore Street. Some years ago a building was demolished in the area and it revealed the KP name on an adjacent building.

Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne (1834-1915)

Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne was born in Cornwall, England. He was the son of John Kempthorne and Anne Whitelock. He was baptised on 3 February 1834. In 1854 he emigrated to Melbourne, Australia. He worked briefly as a labourer digging up tree stumps. In 1855 he found a position in the wholesale drug trade. On 23 June 1859 in Melbourne he married Sarah Inman. They had five daughters and one son before Sarah's death in 1895.

Kempthorne arrived in Dunedin in April 1863, sent by the Melbourne pharmaceutical firm of H. & E. Youngman to look at the prospects of establishing a warehouse there. When the company's managers died Thomas Kempthorne stayed in Dunedin and set up his own drug business, French Kempthorne & Co (after going in partnership with a Mr French). It did not last very long and in 1870 Kempthorne, Prosser & Company was formed when he went into partnership with Evan Prosser, a Welsh chemist on the West Coast. The partnership prospered and in 1879 they set up a limited liability company with capital of £200,000.

He became a prominent figure in the Dunedin business community, remaining managing director of Kempthorne, Prosser & Company until 1904 when he retired.

He gave generous support of St Paul's Cathedral in Dunedin. He was a member of the board of managers of the Dunedin Technical School (later King Edward Technical College) from 1911 to 1915 and made a donation of £900 towards its new building. On 29 March 1899 in Dunedin he married Annie Charlotte Rawdon Robinson, about 40 years younger than he. They had one daughter and Annie Kempthorne died in 1903 aged 31 years.

In 1901 as the first Dunedin citizen to own a car he created a minor sensation when he was driven along Princes Street in his steam-operated two cylinder Locomobile with one of his company's engineers at the tiller.

New Zealand, he concluded, was 'a land...in which man indeed is blest.' He became unwell at a board meeting of the National Insurance Company and died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Dunedin on 3 November 1915.

Evan Prosser (1830's-1896)

Prosser was elected to the County Council in 1873, and represented the ratepayers of South Ward until the 1st of August, 1875. He was a Welshaman by birth, and arrived on the West Coast during the gold rush. Subsequently he removed to Dunedin, where, with Mr. Kempthorne, he formed the nucleus of the since-important firm of Kemptorne, Prosser and Co. Mr. Prosser afterwards retired from the firm and went to Sydney. He was the second Mayor of Hokitika, and held office in the year 1868. He was in business in Hokitika as a chemist and druggist, and subsequently became a original partner of the well known firm of Kempthorne, Prosser and Company, Limited. Mr. Prosser was a member of the first County Council of Westland, and subsequently held a seat on the Provincial Council. He eventually removed to Sydney, where he opened a branch of his firm. It is said that he afterwards made a fortune out of Broken Hill mining speculations.

Mr Evan Prosser committed suicide at the North Shore, Sydney, on the 20th 1896. The event is thus reported in the Sydney Daily Telegraph : — A deliberate case of suicide and attempted murder occurred at Neutral Bay shortly after noon yesterday, when Mr. Evan Prosser shot himself at his residence, Raymond-road, and afterwards twice fired at his wife. About minutes after 12 yesterday Mrs. Prosser, having heard the discharge of firearms, immediately ran upstairs, and, going into the bedroom, saw her husband lying on the floor, with blood flowing from under his right ear. She endeavoured to raise him to Ms feet, but while doing so he pointed a revolver towards her and fired two shots, one of the bullets grazing her neck. She eventually managed to get possession of the revolver, and immediately sent for Dr. Shirlow, who, upon his arrival, ordered the removal of the unfortunate man to the North Shore Hospital, where attempts were made to locate the bullet by Drs. Shirlow, Clarke, and Rorke. When the revolver was handed to the police it was discovered that four of the chambers had been discharged. Mr. Prosser retained his consciousness until he arrived at the institution, when he collapsed, and expired about 4 p.m. Mr. Prosser, who was 60 years of age, was at one time connected with the late firm of Messrs. E. Prosser & Co., wholesale druggists, of Sydney, which business passed into the hands of the Australian Drug Company some years back. The matter was reported to the Coroner, who ordered an inquest.

Publications by Kempthorne Prosser

Late 1920's - Profitable Fertilising in New Zealand (1st edition)

Early 1930's - KP Fertiliser Hanbook for New Zealand (2nd edition)

1960's - KP Fertiliser Handbook (3rd edition)

A 24-page history published by the company in 1954 provides a glimpse of the company’s first 75 years.

References

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[Image:KP INVOICE.jpg|thumb|right|1930's Kempthorne Prosser Ltd invoice, Auckland.]]
 [[Image:KP TANK.JPG|thumb|right|Kempthorne Prosser 1960's advertisement north of Auckland. Exists in 2009.]]
+[[Image:File:Dunedin 08 029.JPG|thumb|right|KP Dunedin HQ dating from 1870's in 2008-09]]
 Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne and Evan Prosser entered into business together in 1863 as chemists. They set up Kempthorne Prosser, which became a [[limited liability company]] in 1878. The head office was set up on Stafford Street in [[City Rise]], [[Dunedin]]. In 1904 Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne retired and moved from Dunedin.