Frankton Junction Railway House Factory

Actually in the industrial suburb of Dinsdale, the Frankton Junction Railway House Factory of course takes it's name from the nearby Rail junction, as do many things from the age when Rail was king. This factory, key to New Zealand's rail heritage, links closely with the social and industrial momentum of its times and symbolises a legacy which lives on in many ways.

The New Zealand Government was only in the early stages of considering social housing when it's burgeoning railway workforce pushed Prime Minister William Massey into running an unplanned pilot scheme, houses for railway workers. The success of the scheme was so immense that it forced it's own end within a few short years, meantime populating the countryside with small and perfectly formed homes which still stand today.

The factory was built over a short period in 1921 - 1922, and in 1923 started churning out pre-framed timber houses with every fitting attached, including instructions for construction. The entire house would be bundled up and sent on a railcar to any corner of the North Island that there might be a railway worker, with a booklet to assist the builder at the other end. At their destination, the houses only took about three weeks to construct, the jigsaw often put together by the railway worker himself, or other unskilled labour. The social problem here was that New Zealand was short on builders, and on houses and the Railways Department was simply doing too good a job and putting private enterprise on the back foot.

Massey passed away in 1925, thankfully not seeing the demise of the scheme which was a rapid as it's rise. By 1926 the factory was producing more houses than it needed, and started storing them and then selling them to local authorities. By 1928 the construction industry was so envious of the railway house factory that they lobbied for it's closure.

Of course being a strong railway area in a growing city, Dinsdale and Frankton were fertile ground for the planting of the product, railway houses, and 160 stayed right there. The visitor can easily take in a few prime examples of the product in streets nearby to the house factory, including one grand classic, the 1920s Station Master's house. The modest, cookie cutter railway worker cottage is not without charm either as it features a street-facing porch designed to encourage neighbourliness and it holds in its stature a familiarity for many New Zealanders as many towns have them, and some are entirely made of them.

The Railway Factory itself is an example of Industrial Architecture worth noting, the saw tooth roof being an reminiscent of Victorian factories, it's structure allowing for a 'clean floor' open interior. An innovative feature is the light giving windows on the South side of the building, later copied in a manner on other factories like the Ford Car Factory at Seaview.