Whanganui shipping and trade story brought to light
Published on 21 August 2020
Another colourful reminder of times past has been added to the series of stained glass windows in the Whanganui District Council chamber, with a new window to commemorate early shipping and trade.
The window, sponsored by Councillor Alan Taylor, features the single-masted cutter that carried Cr Taylor’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Ballardie Taylor, along with his friend, William Hogg Watt, from Australia to New Zealand as young men.
“They were really courageous people,” Cr Taylor says. “They converted a small boat by throwing up a mast and some sails and headed for New Zealand with a rough map and a compass.”
Both men were from Scotland and the Taylor family believes they knew each other before they left Scotland.
“When they met in Sydney, they hatched a plan to sail to New Zealand.”
Once settled in Whanganui, they built a jetty and store on Taupo Quay and began trading goods and passengers nationally and internationally.
Cr Taylor says the Taylor and Watt Company soon became an “incredibly important part of the European economy.
“Over the life of the company they sailed 13 ships, including one which made a single voyage from Whanganui to Southhampton, England, direct.
“As well as being the leading maritime business, they were leading bankers for the first couple of decades of the city’s life and the largest landowners in Whanganui.”
Cr Taylor says he still farms on part of the land that his great-great-grandfather bought – “it’s gone through five generations of the Taylor family.”
Watt and Taylor were also pivotal in starting the Presbyterian church in Whanganui and when Taylor died taking a ship across Cook Strait in a storm, in 1871, the shops in Whanganui were closed for four days as a mark of respect.
In 1881 William Hogg Watt became Whanganui’s first mayor.
Cr Taylor says an invitation-only unveiling will be held for the new window in October and the great-great-grandson of William Hogg Watt, who now lives in Havelock North, hopes to attend the ceremony.
Councillor Helen Craig, who inaugurated Heritage Month, says, “People will enjoy the opportunity to view these stunning windows and hear about Whanganui’s history during Heritage Month when the Council chamber opens to the public for two free guided tours on Saturday, 3 October and Saturday, 10 October.”
The Taylor and Watt window will be the 23rd stained glass window in the Council chamber. There is still space for nine new stained glass windows.
Collectively the windows are called ‘The Whanganui Story – Ngā Kōrero Hītori o te Hapori’.
The aim of the stained glass windows project is to reflect and celebrate the events, people and places that make up the story of our district, from early Māori history to the modern day.
To ensure each panel meets the aims of the project, the concept goes through a process of checks with Community Arts Coordinator, Anique Jayasinghe, Mayor Hamish McDouall, designer Julie Greig and glass artist Greg Hall before being brought into being.
Anique Jayasinghe says, “If people or organisations have a local story to tell and are interested in sponsoring a window, call me on 349 3086 or 021 268 4881”.