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Changing Foundations.
The firm of Dolling and Lee does not need much in the way of advertising, as Horokiwi stone is well-known throughout the district by reason of its quality.
The crusher house was bought, with other equipment, by the firm during the depression. Work commenced about a mile back in the Horokiwi hills, but the firm soon met trouble. Overburdening difficulties have caused the closing of every other quarry in the district, and there are now only two others in Wellington: at Breaker Bay and Island Bay. The unwanted material at the top of the hillside had to be removed before the blue metal could be reached.
One morning the men found that the whole quarry had collapsed. They were left with the plant and a lorry, but no metal. A search of the hills revealed an outcrop of what appeared to be blue metal, but it turned out to be shale. After seven weeks prospecting, the firm discovered exactly what it wanted right alongside the crusher house on the Hutt Road.
The quarry is readily accessible, and is in a central position. There is no chance of the metal running out, and the new metal has made its own reputation. Even better is the modern discovery that the metal that formed the overburden, which had to be removed to enable the working of the paying metal, is perfect for the construction of road-beds. So now the entire output of the quarry is used.