First Minson

Press, Issue 30997, 1 March 1966, Page 8

First Minson

The first Minson to be associated with the business was William Minson, a prominent businessman of St. Ives Huntingdon, England. The business was then called Mortlock and Hudson. Mortlock and William Minson were old friends and when Mortlock died William Minson was his executor. William Minson was a hater and tailor and stayed in England for some years before and after acquiring the Mortlock shares. He bought for the firm and arranged shipping. Family diaries mention his regular buying trips for Mortlock and Hudson to London, Coventry, Sheffield and Nottingham and refer to the arrival of New Zealand cheese, honey

and other products in payment for exports to the New Zealand firm.

When the firm got into arrears of payment for goods shipped, William Minson decided to come to New Zealand. He arrived in 1892 on the Kaikoura and took over, the ..business,... which he renamed Minson and Company.

William Minson’s two sons joined him in the business. He bought an Opawa house, “The Hollies,” at the southern end of Richardson terrace, which had been built of stone taken from the Lyttelton tunnel by the engineer in charge, Mr Edward Richardson. William Minson took