By Roselyn Fauth
Tanner Brothers Limited, Stafford St looking North, Timaru, N.Z. (c.1911-1914). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/52750
It started, as many good stories do, with a walk through the cemetery... During the lockdowns I often wandered among the old headstones, noticing names I’d never really stopped to read before. One in particular stood out — Richard Turnbull. His monument was tall and confident, and as I would later discover, so were the buildings that carried his name. That quiet walk sparked a history hunt that led from the cemetery gates into the heart of Timaru, where generations of merchants, architects, and families helped shape one of the town’s most familiar corners.
As I followed Turnbull’s story through the archives, another name kept appearing — Gabites. Sometimes written Gabities or Gabitites, the name was once part of Timaru’s daily language. Before the Oxford Buildings rose on that corner in 1924, locals knew the busy junction of Stafford and George Streets simply as Gabites Corner...
Photograph of Flockton Well near the corner of George St and the Great North Road (Stafford St), between April and December 1868. It is viewed looking along George St to the west. The original wooden Bank of New Zealand building is visible on the corner (centre of image), with Clarkson and Turnbull across the road (left of centre) and the Club Hotel and Flockton Well in the foreground at the left-hand side of the image. There is a man standing on the well and two boys in front of it. The Russell Ritchie and Co. building is on the right corner. The photograph is mounted on a card backing with the photographers' details and "View Up George St., Timaru." handwritten on lower edge. There are also handwritten labels on the top and lower edges of the mount (with small arrows pointing to the appropriate site) that identify the buildings. - nzmuseums.co.nz/3359/flockton-well-corner-of-george-st-and-the-great-north-roadSouth Canterbury Museum
The Early Corner
The corner’s story began in the early 1870s when three brothers from Lincolnshire — George, Robert, and Arthur Gabites — arrived in Timaru after leaving Gunston Ferry, England, in 1870. They settled here with their cousin Fletcher, joining a town that was still finding its footing.
George Gabites purchased and established Gabites Menswear, forming a short-lived partnership with his brother Robert. After six and a half years, George took full ownership, but failing health forced him to sell the business to his younger brother Arthur in 1880. Arthur would go on to run the shop until his death at the age of 55, passing the ownership to his eldest son, also named Arthur.
Arthur married Margaret Bragg on 30 March 1875. They raised twelve children, the youngest only ten months old when Arthur died. The Gabites family became woven into Timaru’s commercial and community life, their name becoming synonymous with quality menswear and with one of the town’s best-known landmarks.
Timaru town. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 02/11/2025, https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1138
ABOVE: 1870 photograph of what was then known as South Road, Timaru (present day Stafford Street) showing construction underway of Richard Turnbull’s Stone Store up the hill on the left. On the corner is Richard Turnbulls shop that was rebuilt in stone after the 1868 fire. – Alfred Charles Barker, Canterbury Museum ID 13/57.
George Gabites – Land, Council, and Legacy
Beyond his role in business, George Gabites served as a Councillor on the Timaru Borough Council, where his influence helped shape the growing township. He purchased the corner property that became known as Gabites Corner — a section that eventually extended to the land now occupied by the Timaru District Council buildings.
In October 1904, George sold this land to the Council for £1,150 (one thousand, one hundred and fifty pounds), a decision likely made with progress in mind. He also owned 244 acres at Kingsdown, purchased in July 1878 for £16 an acre. His name appeared frequently in civic and business circles, remembered as both a landowner and a community-minded councillor.
George died at his Barnard Street home in 1914, aged 85, and was laid to rest in Timaru Cemetery — a long-serving member of a family that helped shape the town’s commercial heart.
Muir & Moodie (Firm), Timaru from Grosvenor Hotel (1904?). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/52769
Gabites Corner in Print – Timaru Herald, 19 September 1924
When demolition began on the old Gabites building to make way for the Oxford Buildings, the Timaru Herald marked the moment with a detailed story titled “Gabites’ Corner: Demolition of Old Landmark.” It captured the sense of history and transition perfectly:
“Considerable interest has been aroused by the work of demolition which is now taking place at the corner of Stafford and George Streets, where the old block of buildings, known for years as Gabites’ Corner, is being pulled down.”
“This building is one of the oldest in Stafford Street. Though substantially built of bluestone, it has outlived its usefulness and will give place to a modern building of reinforced concrete.”
“It is interesting to note that the original building on the corner was a wooden structure, built in 1863 by Messrs Clarkson and Turnbull. This wooden building was destroyed in the big fire of 1868, when the present stone building was erected by the same firm. About 1884 a mercery and clothing shop was opened at the corner by the late Mr A. Gabites, and the business has been carried on ever since under the same name.”
“The new building is to be of the most modern construction, built entirely of reinforced concrete… The architects for the building are Messrs Turnbull and Rule, and the contractor is Mr A. Kennedy. The total cost will run to about £10,000, and it is hoped to have the building ready for occupation in about eight or nine months’ time.”
That report not only linked the Gabites family with the early mercantile life of Timaru, but also brought their story full circle — connecting the first builders on the corner, Clarkson and Turnbull, with the modern architects Turnbull and Rule who replaced it sixty years later.
George St, Timaru, looking towards the sea (C. 1870). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23684
The Family and the Corner
Through both documents and descendants, a fuller picture emerges. The Gabites family’s own records, preserved by Cathrym Gabites, trace how George, Robert, and Arthur built their livelihoods in a new colony, and how their family business helped shape Timaru’s identity. Their enterprise stretched beyond Stafford Street to Temuka, where a handsome new branch opened in 1905 in a building designed by James S. Turnbull — another piece of South Canterbury’s architectural heritage that still stands today.
Even after the original shop disappeared beneath the Oxford Buildings, the name Gabites Corner endured in everyday use. It appeared in bus timetables, shop directories, and local conversations for decades, proof of how deeply one family’s name became part of the city’s memory.
Otago Witness (Newspaper), Cains Terrace, Timaru (1880s). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/62572
Reflections from the Walk
When I first paused beside Richard Turnbull’s monument in the cemetery, I could never have imagined it would lead me here — to Gabites Corner, to forgotten newsprint, and to family notes kept safe across generations. Together, the Gabites and Turnbull stories remind me how the layers of a city are built by people who often lived only a few streets apart, sharing the same hopes for progress and prosperity.
History isn’t locked away in archives. It’s written in the corners of our towns, in the names that linger long after the buildings have changed, and in the care of families who continue to tell the stories.
Sources and Further Reading
Timaru Herald, 19 September 1924 – “Gabites’ Corner: Demolition of Old Landmark”
Timaru District Council – Historic Heritage Assessment Report: Oxford Buildings (1924–25) https://www.timaru.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/673884/Historic-Heritage-Assessment-Report-HHI61-Oxford-Buildings-Category-B.pdf
Timaru District Council – Historic Heritage Assessment Report: Former Arthur Gabites ‘The Corner’, Temuka https://www.timaru.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/673920/Historic-Heritage-Assessment-Report-HHI98-Temuka-Pioneers-Memorial-Category-A-NEW.pdf
WuHoo Timaru – Gabites Corner Heritage Walk
Papers Past – Timaru Herald archives (1872–1945) for Gabites & Plante and A. Gabites advertisements
Hocken Collections – Photograph: Gabites Corner, Timaru NZ
Wikitree – Arthur Gabites (bef. 1843–1898)
Family research compiled by Cathrym Gabites (2024) – Gabites Family History and Gabites Menswear Shop notes, Timaru.
Oral history from Gabites descendants confirming George Gabites’ land ownership of the corner property, his 1904 sale for £1,150, his Kingsdown purchase (1878), and his service on the Timaru Borough Council.
George Street. Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23495
Arthur Gabites (c.1843–1898) wasn an English-born draper. He Arrived in Timaru in the early 1870s, Partnered in Gabites & Plante (1872). Opened A. Gabites – The Corner (c.1884). Funeral notice (1898) places him in North Street; service held at St Mary’s. Business continued after his death under the same name.
George Gabites (c.1829–1914) Older relative of Arthur (I think his brother). Early resident and produce merchant (oats, chaff, etc., advertised 1870s). Landowner of the corner property at Stafford & George Streets and land at Kingsdown. Timaru Borough Councillor in the late 19th century. Sold Gabites Corner in 1904 for £1,150, likely to support civic development. Died 5 August 1914 at Barnard Street, aged 85. Buried in Timaru Cemetery.
Gabites Menswear Shop, Stafford St Timaru
The Gabites Timaru Shop was purchased and established as Gabites Menswear by George and partnership was formed with Robert. This partnership dissolved short time later with George having sole ownership for six and a half years. Failing health forced George to sell Gabites Menswear to Arthur in 1880 which Arthur ran until his death. Ownership passed on the oldest son Arthur.
George Gabites served as Councillor for the Timaru Borough Council. George purchased land which became known as “Gabites Corner”. This land extended to the current land occupied by Timaru Council, which was later sold to the Council October 1904 for One Thousand, one hundred and fifty pounds.
George also purchased 244 acres in Kingsdown in July 1878 for 16 pounds an acre.
- Source Catheryn Gabities
Gabites Family Migration and Settlement
Arthur and two of his brothers, George, Robert and cousin Fletcher, settled in Timaru after leaving Gunston Ferry, England in 1870 at age 27.
Arthur married Margaret Bragg on 30 March 1875 and they had 12 children, the youngest child being only 10 months old.
Arthur died at age 55.
- Source Catheryn Gabities
Gabites Family and Corner – Chronological Timeline
Pre-1870 – England
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The Gabites family lived in Gunston Ferry, Lincolnshire, England.
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Brothers George, Robert, and Arthur Gabites, along with cousin Fletcher, worked as tradesmen before emigrating.
1870 – Migration to New Zealand
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George, Robert, and Arthur Gabites, with cousin Fletcher, emigrated from England to New Zealand, arriving in Timaru in 1870.
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Arthur was 27 years old at the time.
ABOVE: 1870 photograph of what was then known as South Road, Timaru (present day Stafford Street) showing construction underway of Richard Turnbull’s Stone Store up the hill on the left. On the corner is Richard Turnbulls shop that was rebuilt in stone after the 1868 fire. – Alfred Charles Barker, Canterbury Museum ID 13/57.
1875 – Marriage and Family
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Arthur Gabites married Margaret Bragg on 30 March 1875 in Timaru.
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They went on to have 12 children, the youngest only ten months old when Arthur died.
1878 – Land Purchase at Kingsdown
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George Gabites purchased 244 acres at Kingsdown in July 1878 at £16 per acre.
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This demonstrates early investment and expansion beyond retail into farming and landholding.
Burton Brothers (Firm), Timaru (1879). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/52541
Timaru, 1875, Dunedin, by Burton Brothers, Alfred Burton. Te Papa (C.014371)
1880 – Gabites Menswear Established
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George Gabites purchased and established Gabites Menswear on Stafford Street, Timaru.
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A partnership was formed with Robert, but later dissolved; George retained sole ownership for six and a half years.
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Due to failing health, George sold Gabites Menswear to his brother Arthur in 1880.
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Arthur continued to run the shop successfully until his death, after which ownership passed to his eldest son, also named Arthur.
Stafford Street, Timaru (1880-1884). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/66686
Timaru - Cains Terrace 1880's. Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/18599
c.1883–1884 – The Corner Expands
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Timaru Herald later notes: “About 1884 a mercery and clothing shop was opened at the corner by the late Mr A. Gabites.”
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The store became a prominent fixture on the corner of Stafford and George Streets.
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Over time, the site became known locally as “Gabites’ Corner.”
Timaru - North. Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23651
Timaru Borough Council Involvement
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George Gabites served as a Councillor on the Timaru Borough Council, indicating his civic engagement and leadership in local affairs.
July 1878–1904 – Property Holdings
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George retained ownership of the Stafford and George Street corner land for several decades.
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This property extended across what is now the Timaru District Council site.
"In 1904 the Timaru Borough Council purchased a site on George Street from Dr Gabites for £1150 to allow for municipal buildings and library to be erected for the Council. An architectural competition was held and the selected design by Walter Panton and Son was constructed in two phases. The first half completed was the public library, as a result of Mayor James Craigie securing funding from Andrew Carnegie for such a purpose. The library was constructed in 1908 and opened in 1909. The second half of the original design – the municipal buildings – was built soon after in 1911-1912." - https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/2075/Timaru%20Council%20Offices%20and%20Former%20Public%20Library%20(Fa%C3%A7ade)
Picture postcard entitled "The Public Library Timaru. NZ", circa 1915. The public library on the corner of George and Latter Street was possibly built soon after the building was finished. The postcard is addressed, on the verso, to "Miss Kate Sherlock Russell Sqr Timaru" and has a half penny New Zealand stamp. South Canterbury Museum 1999/144.1 https://timdc.pastperfectonline.com/photo/27AC74A9-51E4-46BF-83B0-418596148628
Timaru - Cains Terrace 1880's. Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/18599
October 1904 – Sale of Gabites Corner
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George Gabites sold the Gabites Corner land to the Timaru Borough Council for £1,150 (one thousand, one hundred and fifty pounds).
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Family oral history suggests the sale was motivated by his belief that development would benefit the town’s progress.
Stafford St. looking North, Timaru, N.Z. (1915). Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23618
14 February 1898 – Death of Arthur Gabites
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Arthur Gabites died in Timaru aged 55.
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Funeral notice recorded service at St Mary’s Anglican Church, with burial following.
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The business continued after his death under the A. Gabites name, managed by his descendants.
1902 – Temuka Branch Opens
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The firm A. Gabites “The Corner” opened a branch in Temuka in Mendelson’s Buildings.
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This expanded the business’s South Canterbury presence.
1905–1906 – Temuka Building Constructed
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A new A. Gabites building at 61 King Street, Temuka was constructed.
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Designed by architect James S. Turnbull, and built by D. McInnes.
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The two-storey Edwardian commercial building (still standing) is now a Category B heritage building.
Gabites Corner, Timaru, N.Z.. Hocken Digital Collections, accessed 31/10/2025, https://hocken.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23620
5 August 1914 – Death of George Gabites
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George Gabites died at his Barnard Street residence, aged 85.
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He was buried at Timaru Cemetery.
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His life spanned the formative years of Timaru’s commercial and civic development.
19 September 1924 – Demolition of Gabites Buildings
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The Timaru Herald published “Gabites’ Corner: Demolition of Old Landmark.”
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Reported that the old bluestone building at the corner was being pulled down to make way for a modern structure.
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The article recorded that:
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The original wooden building had been built in 1863 by Clarkson and Turnbull.
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It was destroyed in the 1868 fire, then rebuilt in stone by the same firm.
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A. Gabites opened a mercery and clothing shop there around 1884.
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The replacement building, known as the Oxford Buildings, was designed by Turnbull and Rule, built by A. Kennedy, and cost £10,000.
1925–1940s – Gabites Name Endures
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The A. Gabites brand continued to appear in Timaru Herald advertisements through the 1930s and 1940s.
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“Gabites’ Corner” remained a common local reference point in newspapers, public notices, and everyday directions.
1980s–Present – Gabites Legacy in Business
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The Gabites name lived on in Gabites Appliance Services Ltd, established in Timaru around the late 20th century.
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The family legacy endures through place names, heritage records, and descendants who preserve its history.
1907 Dunstable House and Ballentines in Timaru - Stafford Street looking North Timaru NZ Industria series Addressed to Miss L Roberts and postmarked
One landscape format black and white glass plate negative depicting an area of Timaru, including the bank. Canterbury Museum ACB246/1/2
1915 Shows Stafford Street, Timaru. Some of the buildings on the left going down are, Refreshment rooms, Ice cream parlour, Nisbet Ltd and Edwards pictures. On the corner of the right side is a tailor shop with a policeman standing on the footpath outside. A few horse drawn carts, two motor cars and some pedestrians and cyclists can be seen. In the early 1900's, ice cream was also sold, along with milkshakes, sodas, fruit drinks, fruit salads, coffee and confectionery, in American-styled ice cream parlours and "marble bars" Ref: 1/2-107025-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
Pictorial postcard of Stafford Street entitled "The Cabstand Stafford St Timaru," circa 1910. Depicts a line of horse-drawn carriages on the side of the road outside the Bank of New Zealand and the NZ Loan and Mercantile Agency. In the background the Club Hotel can be seen on the corner of George and Stafford Streets and 'A Gabites' on the opposite corner. South Canterbury Museum 2006/104.114
Newspaper article from south canterbury museum archives oxford and gabities corner
GABITES’ CORNER.
Demolition of Old Landmark.
Considerable interest has been aroused by the work of demolition which is now taking place at the corner of Stafford and George Streets, where the old block of buildings, known for years as “Gabites’ Corner,” is being pulled down.
This building is one of the oldest in Stafford Street. Though substantially built of bluestone, it has outlived its usefulness, and will give place to a modern building of reinforced concrete.
It is interesting to note that the original building on the corner was a wooden structure. An illustration of it appeared in the recent Jubilee Supplement of the Timaru Herald. It was built in 1863 by Messrs Clarkson and Turnbull. This wooden building was destroyed in the big fire of 1868, when the present stone building was built in its place by the same firm. About 1884 a surgery and clothing shop was opened at the corner by the late Mr. A. Gabites, and the business has been carried on ever since under the same name.
A few years ago, the front of the building was repaired, and modern shop fronts, with tiled fronts and mirrors, were installed. These have been removed and the whole building is now entirely demolished to make place for the new structure.
THE NEW BUILDING.
The new building is to be of the most modern construction, built entirely of reinforced concrete. The present block is to be three storeys high, but sufficient strength has been provided in the foundations and piers to carry another two storeys, if it is ever required to do so. The whole of the Stafford Street frontage will be taken up by four shops, each having shop fronts of polished metal. The piers and window stalls will be clad in blue-grey veined “Moat” marble, highly polished. The shops will be finished inside in white plaster, with fibrous plaster ceilings.
The entrance to the top floors will be off George Street next to Mr. J. W. Pigott’s vestibule. Collapsible iron gates will lead into a small tiled lobby from which a pair of plate-glass swing doors will lead into the entrance hall. From this will rise the wide and handsome main staircase, and the lift as well.
On the first floor will be nine large and well-lighted offices, five of which will be divided into two suites, each containing a strongroom. The floor will be complete with ample lavatory accommodation. The top floor will probably be sub-divided into offices in the same manner. At the back of the building in the basement will be the boiler room, the whole building being heated by means of low-pressure hot water radiators. Special attention has been given to the electric lighting of the various parts of the building. The shop windows will be floodlighted by high-power lamps from concealed sources, and the other fittings have been selected for efficiency.
Externally the building will prove a notable addition to the architecture of the town, rising 61 feet from the pavement. For its effect it depends largely upon the shape and disposition of the windows, which will be large, well-proportioned steel casements. Between the rusticated side features on either frontage will be shallow wrought iron balconies, also acting as fire-escapes, which very materially assist the elevations. The shops will be protected by a large cantilever verandah, suspended by rods and stepped to the fall of the streets.
The architects for the building are Messrs Turnbull and Rule, and the contractor is Mr. A. Kennedy. The total cost will run to about £10,000, and it is hoped to have the building ready for occupation in about eight or nine months’ time.
Century of Family Service / Gabites Menswear Has Proud Place in City's Commerce (Aug 1971). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 31/10/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/434
CENTURY OF FAMILY SERVICE
Gabites Menswear Has Proud Place in City’s Commerce
For one hundred years today a member of the Gabites family has controlled the store at the corner of George and Stafford Streets, which bears its name.
George was the first of the Gabites to come to Timaru from Owston-Ferry-on-Trent, on the Isle of Axholme, in Lincolnshire. It was a few years before 1871, in which year he was manager of Turnbull’s largest drapery house, C. Clarkson and Co.
Also before 1871, George Gabites and his brothers Robert and Fletcher Gabites, all from the Lincolnshire district, had gone to Australia in 1857.
Thus began the Gabites family in Timaru. It was then an enterprising and industrious family, and one that has since busily and successfully set a place for itself in the commercial community of the town.
The business now occupying the corner of Stafford and George Streets, Gabites Brothers Ltd, took over from them, and today’s business, Gabites Menswear Ltd, is still on the same site.
The name of Gabites has been associated with the corner for exactly 100 years as of today.
The men’s outfitting trade happened as follows. George and Robert Gabites dissolved their earlier partnership in 1871, when Robert carried on his drapery business at 91 Stafford Street. On May 10, 1876, the firm of Gabites Brothers was formed by George and Fletcher Gabites, and the Gabites name has lasted there since.
Some years later George Gabites and Robert Gabites went into partnership. In 1884, the principal opened his shop at the corner of George and Stafford Streets, where it remained for many years, until 1924, when “The Timaru Herald” of that date carried the announcement in Town and Country columns: “We are sorry to see in a notice of Messrs Gabites’ affairs published elsewhere today, we are compelled to go into liquidation.”
“The Timaru Herald” of that date also carried an advertisement in Town and Country columns: “We are sorry to see in a notice of Messrs Gabites’ affairs published elsewhere today, we are compelled to go into liquidation.”
In 1924, after 40 years of continuous trading, they had to go into liquidation. They had been doing business at what was known as “the Breakwater” and the shop at the corner.
Always the Gabites were to the fore in developing new branches of trade and ideas of success. They have been the makers of two of Advance Clothing Factory’s top models, one of which was the “Plantie” suit and coat.
Planties and Plantie dot sold out their doors until August 18 that year, but the closure was brief, and Arthur Gabites re-opened the store again on September 8. He announced that the shop would be carried on exclusively in men’s wear lines, and it has remained thus since.
Arthur Gabites carried on until just before the turn of the century, and his son, Mr A. E. Gabites, became managing director in 1935. He has passed it on, and Messrs A. E. and G. J. Gabites have carried on the business since 1959, when Mr A. E. Gabites gave the reins to the present directors and it was incorporated as Gabites Menswear Ltd.
FOUNDER FIRST SOUGHT GOLD
The man who can be virtually considered the founder of the Gabites dynasty in Timaru, Mr George Gabites, came to New Zealand when he was 22 from Owston-Ferry-on-Trent, in Lincolnshire.
Before that, however, he had tried the Australian gold diggings and had sampled most of the experiences available in those days.
Mr Gabites was born in 1837, and after his schooling was over, he was a brewery drayman at Grimsby. He went to Australia in 1857, returning to England in 1861. In October of the following year he came out to New Zealand in the “Alfred Thorndyke” by way of Panama, San Francisco, and South America.
Shortly afterwards he went to Melbourne, but returned to New Zealand at the time of the Dunstan gold rush.
Mr Gabites eventually reached Timaru in 1869, when he was a pioneer businessman. Two years later he married Miss Clarissa Ann Jukes, whose father operated the business which has lasted the century today.
A CENTURY WITH GABITES MENSWEAR
(Appears as sidebar headline on the right margin)
Citation:
“Century of Family Service: Gabites Menswear Has Proud Place in City’s Commerce.”
Timaru Herald, August 1971.
Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 31 October 2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/434.
King Street, Temuka, New Zealand, 1912, Temuka, by Muir & Moodie. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (PS.001496) No Known Copyright Restrictions
A great example of removing the old to make way for the new. The Oxford building opened late 1925, and has stood for a century. A stunning landmark with a story of its own on the site. - Photography By Roselyn Fauth May 2018.
In 2013 The Oxford Restaurant moved into the Oxford Building. This listed 1925 Historic gem, in the old heart of Timaru. A beautiful corner building, it has embossed 15 foot ceilings on all four floors which was the inspiration behind the restaurants branding. timaru.govt.nz/Historic-Heritage-Assessment-Report-HHI61-Oxford-Buildings-Category-B.pdf
Arthur Gabites was an early Timaru merchant and draper who played a key role in extending retail trade into the Mackenzie Country during the late nineteenth century. After the dissolution of Gables and Plante, where Tom Bussell had been employed, Gabites offered Bussell work and later appointed him as branch manager of a new clothing and drapery business in Fairlie. His willingness to support capable staff and encourage initiative indicates that he was regarded as a fair and forward-thinking employer. Gabites’s decision to open a branch in Fairlie reflects the commercial expansion of Timaru’s business community inland, supplying clothing and household goods to settlers and farmers in a growing rural district.
When the Fairlie branch’s drapery premises were offered for sale, Bussell purchased them for £400 and informed Gabites after the fact. Rather than reprimanding him, Gabites immediately travelled to Fairlie to assist, showing practical judgement and confidence in Bussell’s ability. Their relationship was built on mutual respect; Bussell later credited Gabites’s support and example as a decisive influence on his own career.
Gabites’s sudden death from influenza, only a short time after helping to establish the Fairlie store, was described by Bussell as the greatest shock of his life. His passing left a personal and professional gap in the local business community. Though mentioned chiefly through Bussell’s recollections, the article portrays Gabites as an experienced and generous tradesman whose mentorship contributed to the success of others and to the commercial development of Fairlie.
William Vance, Fairlie Shop With A History: Tom Bussell Saw Opportunities And Seized Them (Jun/Jul 1953). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 02/11/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/5026
Fairlie Shop With A History
Tom Bussell Saw Opportunities and Seized Them
By William Vance
“You should see Mr Tom Bussell,” Mrs Richard Gould advised me recently. “He has a story to tell. Everything he touched turned to gold.”
And what an interesting story he had—of the days when butter was 6d per lb, eggs 6d a dozen, and a leg of mutton at 1/- could provide a decent meat meal for a family.
“You want my story?” said Mr Bussell. “Well, such as it is, here it is…”
“I was born in Devon in 1865 and on September 25, 1875 our family landed in surfboats at the Strathallan landing place from the ship Merope. Even at that time there was a housing shortage and we had to stay in the Immigration barracks near Browne Street,” he said.
After leaving school Mr Bussell worked as a parcel boy for Morgidge and Allnutt, drapers of Timaru. He then set up shop at the corner of North and Church Streets. Later he moved to Gables and Plante’s drapery shop in Charles Bowker’s building near the Theatre Royal. It was a two-storeyed building and there were five employees, Mr Bussell recalled. The hours of work were from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 10 p.m. on Saturdays. There was no half-holiday and the wages were 7/- a week for the first year and 5/- rise until they reached 30/- a week. There they stopped. The employees were paid every four weeks.
Lot of Money
One day, when Mr Bussell was handed his wages, Mr Plante remarked:
“That’s a lot of money for a young man. What do you do with it all?”
“I don’t spend it all, sir,” replied the trembling Bussell.
“I’m very pleased to hear that,” continued the employer. “If you save your good money you’ll prosper.”
Emily and Plante was established in 1876. His assistant, 16-year-old Tom Bussell, worked there for Rylands & Co., agents in Dunedin. “If you could see some of our old bills,” he said, “you’d get some idea of our buying methods.”
As young Bussell carried Rylands and Plante goods for delivery to a Mr W. H. Smart, Charlie McKay, he stopped at the Le Cren estate, now subdivided.
Mr McKay noticed this, and when it was time to go, he handed Bussell a tip which he put into his pocket. Next morning the recipient discovered that the shilling tip was a golden sovereign.
Hurrying round to the Grosvenor Hotel, Bussell found that Mr McKay was still in bed but would see him. He hastened to the room and blurted out: “Mr McKay, you’ve made a mistake. You gave me a sovereign instead of a shilling.”
“It was no mistake, lad,” said McKay. “This is the first time I have had the chance of staying late in bed for months. At other times I am up at 5 o’clock to pack samples. Come down and help me tonight and I’ll give you three sovereigns.”
So began a lifelong friendship with Charlie McKay.
Fairlie Manager
But business continued to be poor throughout the slump years of the ’eighties. Eventually the business of Gables and Plante closed down. The partnership was dissolved, and Mr Plante went to Australia, where at least two of his sons became doctors.
“And what are you going to do, Tom?” asked Mr Arthur Gabites.
“I have nothing in view,” confessed the despondent assistant.
“Well, don’t do anything. I am opening a clothing department of the shop down at the corner.”
When Mr Gabites afterwards opened a shop in Fairlie, Mr Bussell became branch manager.
Wiltshire’s drapery shop in the main street of Fairlie, together with a dwelling attached and a section, was put up for auction. There was no bid.
Next morning the Fairlie branch manager rang Timaru to tell Mr Gabites: “I have bought Wiltshire’s shop for £400.”
“Whatever for?” he asked.
“What do you think?” came the retort from Fairlie.
“Come down straight away,” commanded Mr Gabites.
When the Fairlie manager arrived, he asked: “Have you really made up your mind, Tom?”
“I’ve bought the shop,” answered Mr Bussell. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but the man who works all his life for wages gets nowhere.”
“All right,” replied Mr Gabites. “I’ll help you all I can. Let us indent together.”
A few days later, Arthur Gabites became ill with influenza. Within a week he was dead. “The sudden death of Mr Gabites,” recalled Mr Bussell, “was the greatest shock I have ever had.”
By the time Mr Bussell had paid for his shop, there was very little money left to buy stock. Then he thought of Charlie McKay, and asked him to indent for him.
“What if I can’t pay for the stock?” asked the hesitant Bussell.
“If you can’t pay for it, I will,” immediately responded McKay. Mr Bussell was able to meet that, and every subsequent bill, and he paid cash for everything he bought.
More Turnover
He had estimated that, by careful management, he could make a living wage if he maintained a turnover of £30 a week. For the first 12 months his turnover averaged £32 a week. Within five years he had doubled that figure. Within another five years the returns were threefold. His success was attributed to the fact that he stocked the best quality materials and sold them as cheap as possible.
By these means he was able to sell flannel sheets for 13/6 each; tweed trousers for 10/6 a pair; A.1. quality prints at 4d a yard; men’s woollen socks for 10d a pair; boots, 15/- a pair; women’s glace kid shoes, 3/11 a pair; suits for 32/6.
“I bought men’s cotton singlets at 6/3 a dozen, and the stuff was good,” declared Mr Bussell. “I know it was good because I wore some myself, and I just couldn’t wear it out.”
To cope with what he bought, he rebuilt his shop and packed the top storey with linoleums, boots, clothing and furnishings.
In those times, Saturday was market day and Saturday night was late shopping night. Farmers came to town for their provisions, and women from the outlying districts from as far away as Raincliff rode in on horseback or in carts over steep and rough roads to sell eggs, butter and bacon. Most of them had their own customers and they were quite happy with the few shillings they made.
On one of these late nights Mr Bussell was wrapping up a parcel for Mrs Smart, wife of the manager of Strathallan, the Le Cren estate then being subdivided, when Mrs O’Neill came up and spoke to her.
“I believe your husband is going to buy the No. 5 block,” said Mrs O’Neill.
“No,” replied Mrs Smart. “He was going to buy it, but has changed his mind; we are buying the run above it.”
Long after closing time, the Fairlie shopkeeper pondered on this conversation. “Mr Smart knows every inch of this estate,” he thought. “If he was going to buy No. 5 block, it is a good farm.”
On Monday evening, Dr Cooke accosted the Fairlie draper at the railway station with: “What do you mean, Bussell, by beating me for £1000.”
“I’ve never beaten any man for anything,” replied the surprised Mr Bussell. “Anyhow I couldn’t beat you for sixpence.”
“Well you did. When Bob Banks and I went into the National Mortgage this afternoon to buy No. 5 block, they told us you had bought it. We reckon you’ve beaten us for £1000 each.”
The tale of the businessman turned farmer is often a tale of misfortune, but Mr Bussell was lucky from the beginning. His first season was a dry one. He knew nothing about sheep, but he knew what stock his farm could carry, so he bought grain supplies cheaply at the Fairlie saleyards and sold them next season at a handsome profit. He bought wool at 6d per lb from the farmers at W. H. Cook’s wool scouring works, and sold it two seasons later for 2s4d.
A Quick Deal
Because of his wife’s health, Mr Bussell retired to live in Wai-iti Road, Timaru after having successfully farmed for 24 years.
One sunny morning when Mr Bussell was sitting on the verandah reading The Timaru Herald, Mr James Moyes, a land agent, passed by.
“And what would you be doing so early in the morning?” asked the newspaper reader.
“I am arranging for a client to see Tripp’s house up the road here, which is for sale.”
“How much?” asked Mr Bussell.
“For £2000,” replied the land agent.
“Then tell your client the place is sold.”
“Sorry,” said Mr Moyes, “my client has first option.”
By the afternoon the Tripp property belonged to Mr Bussell. He sold a number of sections but still retains the house, which is subdivided into six flats.
If Mr Bussell has prospered in his deals, he has also remembered less fortunate ones. He handed over many a pound note as a loan that was never paid back and never asked for.