Henry Ely Shacklock

Henry Ely Shacklock (21 June 1839 – 17 December 1902) was an iron moulder and manufacturer in colonial New Zealand. In 1873 H.E. Shacklock designed and built the first of thousands of cast iron coal ranges that, after various modifications, became the backbone of his business. The company he founded, H.E. Shacklock Ltd., went on to produce the first electric range in New Zealand in 1925.

Background

Shacklock was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England and served his apprenticeship in several foundries at Nottingham and Derby. Unsatisfied with the opportunities available to him in England, Henry Shacklock emigrated to New Zealand and arrived in Port Chalmers aboard the Bombay on the 9 September 1862. Shacklock first gained a job cutting scrub on the Otago Peninsula before his fiancée Elizabeth Bradley came to join him in New Zealand. He spent a period of his life living in Oamaru before returning to Dunedin and settling on an adjoining section on Grosvenor Street and Park Terrace. He eventually set up his own foundry on Princes Street in January 1872.

The Shacklock Orion Coal Range

Shacklock 'Orion' Coal Range

In 1873 due to requests from his clients and dissatisfaction with his own imported range in his home Shacklock designed and built a prototype cast iron coal range. Shacklock built a ‘self setting’ stove with specially designed grates and flues that worked using lignite coal unlike the British and American kitset imports which were designed to run on bituminous coal. This design was a continually improved and modified product that warmed kitchens, heated water, baked scones and cooked porridge throughout thousands of New Zealand homes. Shacklock named his design the ‘Orion’ due to his interest in astronomy. Before he patented the range in 1882 he introduced many features to appeal to the potential customer. The curves and angles were designed for aesthetics as well as strength. The fire doors would stay open by themselves horizontally, the chimney and flue damper could be removed for cleaning and the door was also made with varying thicknesses to distribute the heat evenly. By the late 1880s, the Orion range grew to include many different models including double ovens and featuring a ‘destructor’ firebox that was advertised as a safe and hygienic way of disposing of kitchen waste.

H.E. Shacklock Ltd

Henry Shacklock was a pioneer in the manufacturing of coal ranges and set up his business in 1871. The Orion coal range was the main line produced and in 1894 their product was being sold throughout New Zealand. The limited liability company of H.E. Shacklock Ltd was formed in 1900 with a capital value of 25,000 pounds. For as long as coal remained the main source of energy H.E. Shacklock was the market leader in producing solid fuel ranges and heaters. In the late 1890s Henry Shacklock became increasingly ill and suffered from bouts of depression. He gradually withdrew from playing an active role in the company he created. On 17 December 1902 Henry Ely Shacklock hanged himself in his Dunedin home. The company went on to produce New Zealand’s first electric stove in 1925 but struggled to modernise its operations. In 1955, Auckland company Fisher and Paykel Ltd acquired H. E. Shacklock Ltd. and it continued to dominate the New Zealand domestic appliance market through the era of Government protectionism. The Shacklock name was gradually withdrawn from Fisher and Paykel products.

References

Angus, J, H. The Ironmasters: The First One Hundred Years of H.E. Shacklock Limited. Dunedin: 1973 H.E. Shacklock Limited.

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