DIAMOND JUBILEE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 46, 3 December 1938, Page 8

DIAMOND JUBILEE

THE FIRM OF STEPHENSON. 60 YEARS OF STEADY PROGRESS. AUCTIONEERS. AND REAL ESTATE AGENTS. For sixty years the name of Stephenson, as an auctioneering firm and real estate business, has been known and ' well respected in the town of Ashburton and Province of Canterbury. It is a far cry back..to the year 1878, but it was then that the business now conducted by Mr Reginald Stephenson first saw the light of day. It was firstly conducted by Mr Alfred Harrison (who died in 1901) and later in association with Air Henry Stephenson, father of the present owner. Mr Stephenson senior arrived in New Zealand from the Homeland in 1878 aboard the ship Waitangi (Captain Hodder) and was of the determined type of pioneer who was bound to succeed in the Colony of his adoption. He was quick to ap-

predate the potential wealth of Canterbury, and Mid-Canterbury in particular, and he moulded his business to meet the requirements of the district. It was not long before great progress was made and the foundations of the firm which has survived and prospered for sixty years were well and truly laid. Mr Henry Stephenson continued actively at the helm for many years and lie became one of the best known merchants of the district. His business acumen and honesty were soon appreciated and much confidence was reposed in him. Upon his death, in 1932, Mr Reginald Stephenson assumed complete control of the business, and to mark the sixtieth jubilee of the firm, considerable structural alterations have been made to the auction rooms and general offices. A handsome front has been erected and the building is now an ornament to Havelock Street. The firm of Stephensons is probably one of the oldest in the district to have been retained in the control of one family for so many years.

There was a large entry of furniture and sundries at the diamond jubilee sale, yesterday afternoon. Mr Reg. Stephenson, in welcoming a big attendance of buyers and others interested, briefly sketched the history of the business and paid a. tribute to the early proprietors who had so well and truly laid the foundation. . He made special reference to the long and faithful service rendered by Mr I. A. Baigent, who has been a member of the staff for over 40 years, and, also, apologised for bis absence, Mr Baigent being away on holiday leave. Concluding, Mr Stephenson publicly extended bis thanks for thto support accorded the firm during bis father’s proprietorship, and also since lie himself bad taken over in 1932, and expressed the opinion that under the brighter and more convenient- surroundings now prevailing a greater mead of public, patronage could confidently lie looked for. X