A DUNEDIN icon for over 150 years, Harraways is a family business that has endured since 1867.Still privately owned and operating from its original Green Island site, Harraways is the only remaining mill processing home-grown oats in New Zealand.
How has the company survived to provide New Zealanders with some of their most-loved breakfasts for a century and a half? The story of this remarkable local landmark is told in Harraways - Going for Grain: 150 years of milling at Green Island, Dunedin.
Rebecca Reid's book, published as part of Harraways 150th anniversary celebrations, tells the history of the business, with all its high points and struggles. This substantial volume also includes recipes from across the years, many historical images, fascinating family facts on those who have helmed Harraways, yarns, memories, and much more.
Harraways - Going for Grain is available now from odtshop.co.nz, the Otago Daily Times front office, or Harraways at 161 Main South Rd in Green Island. The book documents how two early colonial Dunedin families have kept Harraways at the forefront of the New Zealand milling industry for a century and a half. Henry Harraway started the company as Dunedin prospered in the wake of the Otago Gold Rush of the early 1860s. He and wife Catherine had 21 children (with 11 of their sons forming their own cricket team), so it's no surprise the business later became Harraway and Sons Limited.
In 1944 another storied Dunedin family, confectioners and millers the Hudsons, purchased the Harraways mill and introduced their own acumen to the business. The Hudson name endures to this day at Harraways and Sons Limited, with Ross and Deans Hudson remaining as directors.
Also enduring is the famous Kiltie boy and his dog Harry, which has been used in Harraways marketing since the 1950s. The current version was created in 2017 to coincide with the 150th year celebration.
Befitting such an iconic Dunedin business, artifacts from Harraways extensive history are now held in the city's Toitu Otago Settlers Museum.
* Harraways - Going for Grain: 150 years of milling at Green Island, Dunedin, by Rebecca Reid, is available now from odtshop.co.nz, the ODT front office, or Harraways.
