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32 COROMANDEL LIFE SPRING/HOLIDAY 2016
304 Richmond Street, Thames.
Built for Mr Cyrus Brown about 1880.
The Waihi Shop and House as first built.
1900-1903. Salvation Army at left.
Isaac Brown moved from bicycles
to motorbikes.
THAMES OWN BIKE MANUFACTURER
Ironmonger Cyrus Brown heard of the new
‘safety’ bicycle and imported some from
England to sell. In the late 1890s, he sent
his son Isaac to Sheffield to learn bike
manufacturing techniques.
Upon his return in 1897, he formed Isaac
Brown & Co, bike manufacturer and seller. His
first premises in Thames were at the south
end of Pollen Street – distinctive for the penny
farthing cycle mounted on the roof. He was
joined in business by his brothers, Edwin and
Samuel Brown, with most of their asssembly
components for the enterprise sourced from
Phillips, a leading UK manufacturer of bike parts.
With bicycles proving extremely popular, Isaac
soon opened a shop in Paeroa, and in 1899
brother Samuel opened a Waihi store, Cycle
Works. Samuel’s daughter B. Merle Binnie
remembers in this excerpt from the Ohinemuri
Regional History Journal 33, Sept 1989:
“Samuel was courting Rhoda Collier of
Coromandel, but it was not easy to visit her. On
a number of times he did it this way. Leaving
Waihi on his bicycle as soon as the shop closed
on Saturday, he would bike to his home at
Thames and have a night’s sleep. Rising early,
he would bike on to Coromandel and spend
the day with Rhoda, returning to Thames in the
evening for another good sleep. In early morning
he biked back to Waihi in time to open the shop.
All roads were metal, full of potholes, and plenty
of small and larger hills.
“Rhoda’s father forbad the marriage until she
was 21, so the wedding was on the day after –
November 12, 1903. My father in the meantime
had built the home on the hill behind the shop.
It was only partly finished when they married. It
is still there, though the shop is gone, and if the
front still has fancy balusters, he turned them all
on his foot-pedalled lathe at the shop. In later
years I helped to treadle, as he made various
interesting articles.”
The Browns and their crew manufactured 4000
bicycles through the mid-1930s, with 1500 of the
Orb brand being exported to India.
BROWNS 100% BROWNS’S APPLIANCE:
FAMILY BUSINESS SPANS 3 CENTURIES
Around 1897 the Thames enterprise moved to
larger premises in the centre of town. The family
has always kept the store ahead of the times,
expanding their stock to include motorbikes
(see photo, but now no longer sold), radios,
record players, sewing machines, and general
appliances (sales and repair) which evolved into
100% Brown Appliances that still exists today in
Thames on Pollen Street.
THE END OF THE BROWN ERA...
NEW OWNERS THE MILMINE FAMILY
However, the Brown’s long association with
the iconic store is coming to a close. The new
owners of the business are Mark and Cara
Milmine from Hikuai. The family moved to the
Coromandel ten years ago, retaining a business
in Auckland. However distance has made it
more and more difficult to maintain focus on that
company, and Mark began looking for a new,
local challenge around 12 months ago.
“I’m really excited to have found such a quality
business as 100% Brown’s Appliances – it’s
truly a local institution, with a remarkable
history”, says Mark.
Other than a gradual phase-out of the Brown’s
moniker (the business will trade as 100%
Thames) Mark is quick to assure customers
that there will be few, if any, changes –
“knowledgeable local staff, delivering the right
advice and great value for money, will continue
to be the essence of 100% Thames”, he said.
Above: David and Lynn Brown (pictured in front) have
decided to retire. Since none of their children wanted
to take over the appliance business, the couple sold to
Mark (pictured at back) and Cara Milmine from Hikuai.
The Browns will still be involved, however, as they still
own the property. Photo by Teresa Ramsey/ Fairfax NZ
Left: The back shed of 100% Browns still offers some
history: bicycle hooks still installed on the rafters, with
one rusty bike still dangling upside down. And if those
the old locks on the door could talk!
Revolving Chair
Barber Shop
Phone or text Kim on
027 204 1007
A CLEAR CUT CHOICE • 328B POLLEN STREET • THAMES
Tuesday - Saturday • Walk Ins Welcome
(Extended hours over Summer holidays)
Gold Card Discount
starts! Where the fun
SALES • REPAIRS • BIKE HIRES
535 Pollen St, Thames • 07 867 9026
.
THE BROWN BIKE
BUILDING LEGACY
Brown family “hangs it all up” after 120 years