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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Cooke, Howlison and Co
Cooke, Howlison and Co. (Frederick Augustus Cooke and Edward Howlison). Cycle Manufacturers and Importers, 156, 158, and 162 Great King Street, and 26 George Street, Dunedin. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. Branches, Don Street, Invercargill, and Stafford Street, Timaru. This well known firm was established in 1895, by the present partners, Messrs F. A. Cooke and Edward Howlison, and under capable and progressive management the business grew rapidly. In 1897 the premises were considerably extended, and in 1901 and 1903 further changes were made. The firm now possesses a large two-storey brick building, occupying three blocks, in Great King Street, and a commodious show-room, occupying a central position, in George Street. The whole of the first floor in the Great King Street premises is devoted to the manufacturing department, which possesses the most modern contrivances for facilitating the manufacture, and adding to the quality of the manufactured articles. The now famous “Record” bicycle, with its ingenious attachments, and the equally popular “Jubilee” machine, and many other well known makes, are built by the firm, and supplied to retail dealers and private purchasers in all parts of the colony. The “Record” tyre is favoured by cyclists throughout New Zealand, and other fittings manufactured by the firm have won a similarly well-merited reputation. Messrs Cooke, Howlison and Co. hold several agencies for machines manufactured abroad, notably that of the celebrated English machine, the “Swift.” It was this firm that first commenced the building of motor-bicycles in Dunedin, and its success in that department is due to the wide knowledge of engineering possessed by the senior partner, Mr. F. A. Cooke, who spent several years studying that branch of science at Canterbury College. The extensive trade done by the firm in Dunedin, Timaru, and Invercargill is a high tribute to an establishment so young, and is an undoubted evidence of the high quality of its workmanship.