Kempthorne Prosser

Kempthorne Prosser & Co. Ltd, also known as the New Zealand Drug Company Ltd, was the leading drug and fertiliser manufacturer in New Zealand from 1869 until 1978. Their complete name was Kempthorne Prosser & Co.'s New Zealand Drug Co. Ltd, established in Dunedin.

Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne and Evan Prosser entered into business together in 1870 as chemists. They set up Kempthorne Prosser, which became a limited liability company in 1879. The head office was set up on Stafford Street in City Rise, Dunedin. In 1904 Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne retired. Kempthorne Prosser & Co became Kempthorne Prosser & Co. Ltd in 1879 when the New Zealand Drug Company was formed.

In early 1881 the NZ Government offered a bonus for three years to any company that would manufacture 50 tons of sulphuric acid per year. KP's NZ Drug Company was the first in the country to combine sulphuric acid and bone dust to produce superphosphate. The Burnside Chemical Works in Dunedin were the first of their type in New Zealand. Kempthorne Prosser constructed further superphosphate plants in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wanganui. From this stemmed a major chemical fertiliser industry, of national importance to the agricultural and pastoral economy. For almost a century 'K. P.' was to dominate the market. Prosser resigned from the company in 1886 and went to Australia before committing suicide.

By the mid-1970s, some New Zealand farmers decided it was time to take control of the fertiliser industry, and established a new company, the Ravensdown Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd. With help from Brierley Investments and producer board funds it acquired Kempthorne Prosser in 1978, and Kempthorne Prosser exited the market.Today there are 25,062 shareholders in Ravensdown and is New Zealands leading fertilising company (2016)

'Ravensdown' as a name comes from the 'Raven', taken from the Ravensbourne site combined with the 'down' taken from the Seadown site.

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