Fraser Lane

Murdoch Fraser, the son of Scottish immigrants, was a salesman. Charles Burgess was a young accountant. In the 1880s, while working for the same company in Auckland, they formed a friendship and began planning to start their own business.

They saw an opportunity in Taranaki, in the wholesale grocery trade. They needed financial help, so they borrowed £200 from a family member, the equivalent of nearly $40,000 today. In 1890-1891 they started a business in New Plymouth called Burgess, Fraser and Co.

By 1905 they were sufficiently well-off to build their own warehouse on the corner of Currie and Gill Streets. The first three-storey brick building in New Plymouth, it was jokingly described as the town's 'skyscraper'. The business continued to trade well and over the years expanded to have a presence in Stratford, `Hāwera and Hamilton.

Although both men poured enormous energy into the business, they also found time to contribute to the community. Fraser was a borough councillor and served as chairman of both the New Plymouth Hospital Board and the Boys' High School Board of Governors. Burgess was the town's mayor from 1915 to 1919 and he gifted his country estate, known as Burgess Park, to the city.

Fraser died in 1928 aged 80, and Burgess in 1938 at the age of 77. Under new leadership, which included descendants of both men, the company continued to flourish. In 1962, again needing bigger premises, they sold the 'skyscraper' and built a new warehouse on the corner of Gill and Gover Streets. An informal access way from Molesworth Street later became known as Fraser Lane. Why Fraser was chosen instead of Burgess is unknown.

Despite the years of growth, Burgess, Fraser and Co. couldn't survive the changing business conditions of the 1980s. The company was taken over by the share market conglomerate Ceramco, but Ceramco, burdened with debt, struggled too. Finally in March 1987, Burgess Fraser announced it would close its operations.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.