More Info →Palmerston Cooperage and Box Factory

Re-cladding the front of the Palmerston Cooperage and Box Factory (Cook's Mill) on Main Street. William Cook established his first business in Palmerston North 1879 in Coleman Place - a cooperage making barrels from kahikatea he had milled. In 1888 he purchased adjoining properties on Broad Street and Main Street - the site of this factory - making butter boxes, cheese crates, vats and casks for brewers and tallow casks. This building burned down in 1928. The business was one of the largest employers in Palmerston North, with up to 1200 workers during World War Two, constructing various boxes in support of the war effort.