Our History

The Stevenson family has enjoyed a long-standing and illustrious history in the Auckland region. Three generations of the family have left their mark on Auckland in the process of transforming what began as a very modest family business into the flourishing organisation of more than 500 employees it is today.

Our company is still family-owned and the values that motivated the enterprising 17-year-old William Alfred Stevenson over 90 years ago, still apply today – tenacity, dedication, determination, steadfast loyalty to employees and a strong desire to contribute to deserving causes in the community. We have made and continue to make a significant contribution to the development of Auckland’s infrastructure and the city’s expansion – from constructing drainage tunnels and dams and building motorways, through to supplying concrete and masonry products for recent major projects, such as the University of Auckland Business School Park and the Auckland War Memorial Museum redevelopment. We diversified into farming in the 50s and now own substantial agricultural holdings.

Our history began with three pioneering Stevensons – father William, his son William and his brother Jim, hungry for work and armed with their picks and shovels, a few wheelbarrows and a Model-T Ford.

1912 – The late William Stevenson founded the business in 1912, laying drains for the expanding Auckland population.

1917 – The business was registered as a company. It had grown to include work on developing Auckland’s sewerage system. The work was dirty and labour-intensive, involving hours spent underground.

1933 – The business was incorporated as W. Stevenson and Sons Ltd. When William Stevenson became ill, his sons W.A. (later knighted Sir William Stevenson) and Jim Stevenson, the original sons in W. Stevenson and Sons Ltd, took over. They secured the company as a private, family-owned business.

1938 - 1939 – The family acquired the Drury Quarry, 30 km south of Auckland. Millions of cubic metres of aggregate have since been extracted from it to build Auckland’s roads and major civic projects. At the time the quarry was considered so far from Auckland that the Stevensons had to provide housing for its workers. This investment and the small depot that was set up in Pukekohe formed the basis of a long-standing relationship for the family with the South Auckland region. The original Stevenson engineering workshop was also opened in Pukekohe.

Late 1930s – Stevenson constructed the Papakura Military Camp.

1940s – The business expanded with a number of civil and military contracts throughout New Zealand.

1945 – W.A. Stevenson's three sons – Bill, Jack and Ross, became involved in the family business.

1946 – The business began to manufacture its own concrete blocks from its Drury Block Plant. The Number One plant was the first Columbia plant in the world to automate the movement of racks, a system now known internationally as the Papakura System.

1947 – The family went on to construct the Nihotipu Dam in the Waitakere Ranges (together with Downers) and the Hunua Water main, both of which remain cornerstones of Auckland’s water supply today.

1950s & 60s – Stevenson’s work in infrastructure reached a new level, following a number of major roading projects, including Auckland’s Southern Motorway. The company established its own building supply yards, ready-mix concrete facilities and purchased the East Tamaki Quarry.

1950s – Following the expansion of the business in the 50s, Sir William based his family in the south of Auckland, living and working in and around Pukekohe, Whitford and Howick.

After trams were removed from Auckland roads in the 1950s, the company pulled out the tracks and resealed the roads. Stevenson constructed the Ardmore aerodrome and parts of the Southern Motorway.

1953 – The Stevenson engineering workshop was relocated from Drury to Otahuhu.

Mid 1950s – Stevenson began work on the Kopuku (since renamed Kopako), opencast mining site in the Waikato. At its peak it had "over 100" Caterpillar earthmoving machines on site.

1958 – Farming became a cornerstone of the family business after the purchase of Lochinver Station in 1958. Sir William originally purchased 5260 ha at Rangitaiki, east of Taupo. The family continued to add to the station, bringing it to a total of 16,595 ha. Breaking the wild country into farming land involved an enormous amount of hard work. It is still the largest single farm station in the North Island.

1959 – Bill Stevenson took over management of W. Stevenson and Sons Ltd.

1962 – Stevenson constructed the Pukekohe Grand Prix Track. This race track was built in a record seven days by a team that worked day and night. The first race was held only a few days later – less than a week after completion. As a result of this extraordinary achievement, New Zealand was able to entice high-profile drivers including Chris Amon, Bruce McLaren and Jackie Stewart to race and win on that track.

1961 - 1982 – Sir William Stevenson and his team undertook a massive development programme, converting 12,500 ha of scrubland into productive and profitable farmland at Lochinver.

1966 – The company began work on establishing the site of the Glenbrook Steel Mill, a relationship that has continued ever since.

Since the 1970s – Stevenson has also become involved in the development of land in industrial and residential subdivisions throughout Auckland.

1975 – Stevenson’s laboratory, set up 10 years earlier to troubleshoot sealing issues on the Southern Motorway, became one of the first independently certified civil engineering laboratories in New Zealand when it obtained TELARC accreditation (now known as IANZ).

1987 – The purpose built engineering workshop facility was created on the land adjacent to the East Tamaki Head Office.

1988 – Head Office moved to East Tamaki.

1998 – Part of the Poronui Station land acquired earlier was sold as a dairy conversion, reducing Lochinver to its current size of approximately 14,000 ha.

1990s – Stevenson Construction built a number of major infrastructure projects in Auckland and the Waikato including the initial ALPURT (Albany to Puhoi) motorway contract.

2000 – The landscaping component of Stevenson’s Building Products expanded its offering to include value-added products by purchasing Giacon (terrazzo and paving).

2003 – Stevenson purchased the Mullan & Noy fabrication workshop in Hamilton as part of its engineering division.

2003 – The company underwent restructuring and a new divisional structure was created.

• W. Stevenson and Sons Ltd was split into five stand-alone operating companies: Stevenson Resources, Stevenson Engineering, Stevenson Properties, Stevenson Building Products and Stevenson Agriculture.

2006 – Stevenson played an important role as a major sponsor in the construction of the Grand Atrium project at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, opened at the end of the year. Not only were Stevenson concrete products donated and used extensively throughout the extension but the Stevenson Charitable Trust continues to play an important philanthropic role in supporting family-orientated initiatives at the museum.

• Stevenson Properties bought a long sought after 100 hectare property known as the Thorburn block. The land will serve as a buffer zone to the company’s Drury quarry. It also purchased the Sutton block which adjoins the quarry to extend the productive life of the quarry and to act as a buffer zone.
• Stevenson Engineering underwent a major extension that greatly extended its capacity. Significant refurbishment of administration and staff facilities were also undertaken.

2007 - Saw the Stevenson Engineering operation substantially increase its scope of operations. Southern International was acquired by Stevenson in March 2007, followed shortly afterwards by Fruehauf Trailers, in May 2007.  In November 2007, Stevenson acquired Rocktec Ltd, a Matamata-based designer and manufacturer of quarry and mining equipment for the NZ and Australian markets.

• In July 2007 a joint venture with Transpacific Industries Ltd was entered into, with the sale of 50% of Mullan & Noy.
• In November 2007 Stevenson formed Tamau Ltd, a 50/50 Joint Venture with the central North Island Tuwharetoa tribes.  This operation is in partnership with Lochinver Station and will run a wilderness adventure facility targeting overseas tourists.

2008 - Stevenson completed the purchase of Wilsons Readymix in July, giving greater geographic coverage of the South Auckland region for Stevenson Concrete.