The foundry got its name from a small but powerful paddle wheel tug Dispatch which arrived in Greymouth to the order of a local company in 1869.
The engineer who brought the newly-built tug out from England was John Sewell, a native of Scotland, and an engineer of considerable ability.
Sewell decided he liked the town and accepted the position as permanent engineer to the tug.
His job on the Dispatch, however, did not always involve long hours and it was not long before Sewell was working at his trade in a shed in the backyard of his home in Mount Street.
He was assisted with these odd jobs by a fireman on the Dispatch, Charles Jeffard.
Before leaving Scotland, Sewell and a friend, A. B. Hughes, a pattern maker, made an agreement that at some future time they would meet in the colonies and start their own business.
In 1872, Sewell wrote to his friend and told him of his plan to start an iron and brass foundry in Greymouth.
Hughes arrived in Greymouth the following year and with the assistance of William Rae, who held the leasehold of the land chosen as the site for the foundry, the venture began.
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