Williams & Kettle

{{Short description|New Zealand stock & station agency and general merchants}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Infobox company | name = Williams & Kettle Limited<br>158523 | logo = | type = Public listed company | industry = Stock & Station Agency, General Merchants | fate = bought by Wrightson in 2005 | predecessor =  | successor = [[PGG Wrightson]] | founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1891|May|21}} in [[Napier, New Zealand]] | founders = F W Williams and N Kettle | defunct = {{End date|df=yes|2005|06|01}} | hq_location_city = Wilket House, Shakespeare Road, [[Napier, New Zealand]] | hq_location_country = | area_served = North Island East Coast — Poverty Bay and more | key_people = | products = | owner =  | num_employees = | num_employees_year =  | parent = | website =  }} '''Williams & Kettle Limited''' with headquarters in [[Napier, New Zealand]], owned a [[stock and station agent|stock and station agency]] business and a general merchants business with branches throughout the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Incorporated as a co-operative in 1891, it had been founded in 1885 by landowner and businessman [[Frederic Williams (businessman)|Frederic Williams]] (1854–1940) with [[Nathaniel Kettle]] (1854–1940), a brother-in-law of [[John Roberts (mayor)|John Roberts]] the local principal of [[Dunedin]]'s Murray Roberts and a former [[Murray Roberts & Co]] employee.

==Establishment== Williams had set himself up in his own custom house agency in 1880 after forming a good relationship with [[William Nelson (industrialist)|William Nelson]] and becoming agent for his new [[Nelson Brothers Limited|Nelson Brothers]]' boiling down and canned-meat plant which Nelson was establishing at Tomoana just north of [[Hastings, New Zealand|Hastings]] in conjunction with Frederic's uncle, [[James Nelson Williams|J N Williams]]. Together they formed and developed shipping links around the coast and to Britain. In 1885 he took in Nathaniel Kettle.<ref name=LA>Len Anderson. ''Throughout the East Coast, the story of Williams and Kettle Limited'', Pictorial Publications, Hastings NZ, 1974</ref>

Dunedin-born Kettle, having served an apprenticeship with [[National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand#Russell, Ritchie, Le Cren|G G Russell & Co]], wool and general merchants, had opened a Napier branch for Murray Roberts (at first named Murray Common & Co) in 1877<ref name=EO19400928>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19400928.2.17.1?query=nathaniel%20kettle Obituary, Mr N Kettle. ''The Evening Post'', volume cxxx, Issue 78, 28 September 1940]</ref> but the partnership was dissolved in 1885 and Kettle joined Williams in his Napier shipping agency.<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18850731.2.8?query=nathaniel%20kettle Nathaniel Kettle. ''North Otago Times'', volume xxix, issue 4019, 31 July 1885]</ref> His new partnership with F W Williams was reported in the local newspaper beside the account of his colleagues' presentation on his departure on 28 July 1885.<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBH18850730.2.6?query=williams%20and%20Kettle ''Hawkes Bay Herald''], page 2, 30 July 1885</ref> Kettle was a son of surveyor [[Charles Kettle#Family|Charles Kettle]] and his wife, Lena, was the only daughter of [[Gustavus von Tempsky|Major Von Tempsky]].<ref name=EO19400928/> They had married in 1880.

The close relationship with Nelson Brothers would last until soon after the [[First World War]] when it was sold to W & R Fletcher, the local subsidiary of [[Vestey Brothers]].<ref name=LA/>

==Growth== F W Williams & Kettle advertised they were willing to make "liberal cash advances" on unshorn wool clips and other produce and undertake the entire range of station agency business.<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DTN18850801.2.16?query=williams%20and%20kettle ''Daily Telegraph''] page 3, 1 August 1885</ref> From Port Ahuriri Kettle travelled up and down the East Coast making friends and finding clients. Investment propositions would be mailed to London investment houses which would reply by cable. Security documents could then be prepared and executed and lodged with a bank. The bank would cable confirmation and when the lender cabled back their consent the funds were advanced to the station owner. [[File:StateLibQld 1 140307 Port Napier (ship).jpg|thumb|''Port Napier'' launched in 1947]]

===Shipping=== Homeboats and Little Boats.

====Port Line==== The success of frozen meat exports boosted produce exports too. The far away British and European markets for both wool and meat demanded long-distance shipping services. Well known to the big shipping companies, William Nelson and F W Williams eventually assisted in the formation of the Tyser shipping line later known as the [[Port Line]].<ref group=note>Tyser Line —> Commonwealth and Dominion Line —> Cunard Line Australasian Service, Commonwealth and Dominion Line —> Port Line —> Associated Container Transportation</ref> With the knowledge this gave them, they were able to achieve some moderation of the charges made by the other shipping services. The tie with the Port Line was broken in 1969.<ref name=LA/>

====Richardson & Co==== [[File:Shipping wool at Te Araroa, East Coast (21635590846) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Shipping wool from [[Te Araroa]], the steamer waits, the [[Lighter (barge)|lighter]] in a flooded creek is almost hidden by the horses on the creek's bank]] {| |[[File:StateLibQld 1 146115 Kahu (ship).jpg|thumb|''Kahu'' unloading timber. [[Tokomaru Bay]] 1930]] Sea transport was often the most comfortable means of access for passengers and the only practical outlet for produce, particularly wool, for remote properties. Surfboats would deliver cargoes to the beach and pick them up, wool would be unloaded from bullock wagons axle-deep in the water. Captain John Campbell went into business with Napier shipping agent [[Geordie Richardson|G. E. G. Richardson]] (George Edward Gordon Richardson 1834–1905) in the 1860s. Naming themselves Richardson & Co they not only lightered cargoes to and from ships in the Napier roadstead but worked as many as 75 open landings on the East Coast as well as ports from Auckland to Lyttelton.

Ships, the only contact with the outside world for those unable to drop their commitments might call as little as twice a year.<ref name=TeAra>[https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/shipping-overseas-and-coastal-lines/page-11 Shipping—Coastal Lines]</ref> |} [[File:SS Kopara (New Zealand Cargo Ship, 1938) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[USS Kopara (AK-62)|''Kopara'']] launched in 1938 saw [[Pacific War]] service in the US Navy]] ''Kahu'' and ''Fanny''. Kahu carried passengers and freight between Napier and Wellington with occasional side trips to Lyttelton and the Chatham Islands. Other ships included ''Weka'' and ''Ripple''.<ref>[http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc01Cycl-t1-body-d4-d63-d46.html Richardson and Co]</ref>

Campbell sold out and moved to Fielding in 1887.<ref>[https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DTN18870601.2.7?query=captain%20john%20campbell Napier's Loss] ''Daily Telegraph'' 1 June 1887, page 2</ref>

Williams & Kettle became a major shareholder. They sold the bulk of their shareholding in Richardson & Co to [[Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand|Union Steam Ship]] in 1934. Long before that, in 1908, some of their shares were sold to [[Thomas Borthwick & Sons (Australasia) Ltd v South Otago Freezing Co Ltd|Thomas Borthwick and Sons]].<ref name=LA/>

In 1966, Richardson and Co's fleet was six modern motor vessels.<ref name=TeAra/>

==Incorporation== F W Williams and Kettle remained a private partnership until 1891. There were advantages in being a locally owned business competing with branches run from other parts of the country but in 1891 [[Hawke's Bay Farmers Co-op Association]] was formed. As a co-operative it seemed to have the advantage of locking in customers and might in that way take business from Williams & Kettle. There were offers to merge put to each other by both parties before Williams & Kettle themselves incorporated a limited liability company to be worked as a co-operative aiming to at least retain their existing customers. The Williams & Kettle co-operative took from the partnership as of 1 July 1891: :their business premises and plant at Napier, Hastings, Spit and Gisborne and :their interests in steamers and lighters :agencies and :stock in trade The sale gave the two partners more than a small fortune in saleable shares in the new Williams & Kettle Limited.<ref name=LA/>

==Directors== From 1891 and into the 20th century besides chairman [[Frederic Wanklyn Williams|Williams]] and Nathaniel Kettle the board of directors was a list of prominent regional run-holders. They were: :J H Coleman (1834–1928) :[[William Nelson (industrialist)|William Nelson]] (1843–1932) :Rechab Harding (1844–1897) :A S G Carlyon (1859–1927) :[[Joseph Bernard Chambers|J B Chambers]] (1859–1931) :[[William Russell (New Zealand politician)|Sir William Russell]] (1838–1913) :[[Harold Russell (politician)|Harold Russell]] (1871–1938) :L H McHardy (1863–1927)<ref>[http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc06Cycl-t1-body1-d2-d23-d21.html ''The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts), 1908'']</ref> The founders survived until 1940 but the other directors listed above, except for Harding, all died between 1927 and 1932.

F W Williams retired from the post of chairman, and left active management to Nathaniel Kettle, at the end of the First World War but remained a Williams & Kettle director and chairman of Richardson & Co. Nathaniel Kettle handed over day-to-day top management to Leslie Rolls in 1933.<ref name=LA/> [[Harold Russell (politician)|Harold Russell]] became a director when his father, [[William Russell (New Zealand politician)|Sir William Russell]], died in 1913. Upon the retirement of Kettle in 1932, Russell became chairman and held that role until his death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sportsman legislator |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19380715.2.124 |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=[[Evening Star (Dunedin)|Evening Star]] |issue=23010 |date=15 July 1938 |page=10}}</ref>

==Locations== {{Unsourced section|date=January 2026}} :The Spit :Napier :Gisborne 1889 :Hastings 1892 :Pahiatua 1898 :Dannevirke 1902 :Stortford Lodge 1902 :Woodville 1903? :Waipawa 1904 :Wairoa 1909? :Tolaga Bay :Takapau 1926 :Waipukurau 1934? :Ruatoria 1935 :Tokomaru Bay 1963 :Taupo 1966

==Services== Stock and station agency<ref>[https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/WKL:NZ-williams-&-kettle-ltd Williams & Kettle Ltd] ''Bloomberg Financial Services'' accessed 27 May 2017</ref><br> [[File:Waipawa, New Zealand - circa 1915 (20112546546) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Waipawa branch 1915]] Merchandising of: *Livestock *Wool *Grain and seed *Horticulture *Fertilizer *Farm merchandising together with these services: *Rural financing *Forestry * Real estate *Farm ownership and management *Insurance *Fuel distribution

==Ownership== ===Bought by Wrightson=== Williams & Kettle was bought by [[Wrightson]] in early 2005 following their bidding war with rivals [[Fonterra]] and [[Pyne Gould Guinness]]. At that time Williams & Kettle operated through 35 branches mainly spread throughout the east coast and centre of the [[North Island]].<ref>Wrightson Wins Share Scramble. ''New Zealand Herald'', 11 December 2004</ref>

===Brand dropped=== The Williams & Kettle brand began leaving buildings, vehicles and staff uniforms in late 2008.<ref>End for Rural Brand. ''New Zealand Herald'', 14 October 2008</ref>

===Notes=== {{Reflist|group=note}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams and Kettle}} [[Category:New Zealand stock and station agencies]] [[Category:Companies based in Napier]] [[Category:2005 disestablishments in New Zealand]] [[Category:Transport companies established in 1891]] [[Category:Transport companies disestablished in 2005]] [[Category:New Zealand companies established in 1891]] [[Category:Agriculture companies established in the 19th century]] [[Category:Agriculture companies disestablished in the 21st century]]