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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Wiseman, J. and Son

Wiseman, J. and Son, Wholesale Saddlers, Saddlers' Ironmongers, Leather Merchants, Importers, Etc., Queen Street, Auckland. Telephone 226. This business, which is the oldest of its kind in Auckland, and one of the oldest in New Zealand, was first established about 1861 by the late Mr. James Wiseman, in Dunedin. He remained there for only a short time, however, and transferred his headquarters to Auckland in 1862. The business increased year by year, and additions were made and departments added, to such an extent that the premises in Queen Street now consist of three large three-storey and basement buildings, and the whole of the upper portion of the three buildings and the basement are used by the firm for storage room and for its various departments. The business is almost entirely wholesale, with the exception of a purely local retail trade, which is quite independent of the whole business. The wholesale trade extends throughout the colony, and to the South Sea Islands, with which a large and growing business is carried on. The factory is divided into five departments, including the retail branch, each department being under the supervision of a skilled and competent foreman. The bags, portmanteaux, and travelling trunks are manufactured in a separate factory belonging to the firm in Wellesley Street. The firm gives regular employment to about a hundred hands. The late senior partner of the firm, Mr. James Wiseman, had latterly taken very little active part in the conduct of the business, which has been controlled by Mr. John Wiseman, the surviving partner.