Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Mr. John Clemshaw Swales

Mr. John Clemshaw Swales was a member of the Auckland City Council representing Ponsonby Ward from January, 1887, till the close of 1894. As he had retired from business prior to entering the Council. Mr. Swales was able to devote all his energies to the interests of the city, and was a staunch advocate of efficient drainage. As chairman of the Streets Committee, he effected many economies, his sound common sense being especially useful. Mr. Swales was born in Yorkshire in 1826, his father being a cotton manufacturer in that county. At the age of nine he was left an orphan, and, being thrown upon his own resources, found, employment with a plumber at Halifax. He removed to Thursk, and subsequently to Walsall, where he was employed for four page 131 years as an apprentice to Mr. John Jones. At the expiration of his time, Mr. Swales went to Bilston, working for six years with a wholesale manufacturer. He then returned to Walsall, where he married and went into business. Arriving at Auckland in 1859 in the ship “Shalimahr,” Mr. Swales worked at his trade for a few weeks, and then established himself in business as a plumber and tinsmith in Wellesley Street, subsequently removing to Ponsonby. When the Maori War broke out, he was compelled to shoulder a musket, but eventually returned to his business, which he successfully carried on until transferring it to his son, Mr. J. W. Swales, in 1883. Mr. Swales, senior, has been a member of the Auckland Charitable Aid Board since 1889, and has long been connected with licensing matters in Ponsonby. He is a trustee of the Wesleyan Church, and has been a member of the Ponsonby School Committee for many years. Mr. Swales has four sons and two daughters.