William Hoile Brown | |
|---|---|
 William Hoile Brown in 1902 | |
| Born | May 4, 1838 |
| Died | 6 May 1928 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Shipbuilder |
| Known for | Auckland Harbour Board, president of the Master Shipbuilders’ Federation |
| Spouse | Annie Binns 1861 |
| Children | 7 |
William Hoile Brown (sometimes named as William Hoyle Brown) [1] was a shipbuilder in Auckland from 1864 [2] to 1918 [3] and a local politician.
He was born in a Martello tower [4] at Dymchurch, Kent to Stephen Cain and Elizabeth Brown, on 4 May 1838 and went to Greenwich Hospital School. His siblings were George Hoile, Sarah Heywood, and Elizabeth Brown. [5] There are two versions of the next part of his life. Either in 1850, aged 12, he went to California with an uncle, [6] or in 1855 he went with his father. At Samoa he was on the American barque Elvira when it was wrecked, [7] whilst on a trip to Australia. He was marooned for several weeks, [4] until taken to Sydney by a son of the missionary, John Williams. [7] The 1926 version of Brown's life story says he came to Auckland in 1854, was met by his father, who had also come to settle and served 3 years in the militia during the New Zealand Wars, in Captain Clark's company, building redoubt at Pūkorokoro / Miranda, [6] for which he was awarded a medal. [8] Alternately, towards the end of 1855 he may have come in shipbuilder Henry Niccol's Moa, served a seven-year apprenticeship in his shipyard and then, presumably in 1862, volunteered for the wars. [7] The latter fits better with the date of the war and the redoubt.
Either way, he then partnered with another apprentice, John Sims as Sims and Brown, [4] until 1890, [9] after which he continued as a sole trader. Their first yard was at the foot of Princes Street. Later yards were at Devonport and near the foot of Hobson Street. [4] He built nearly fifty craft, including -
From 1863 he lived on the North Shore, [7] where he was a Member of the Devonport Highway Board from 1876, [14] until it merged into Devonport Borough Council in 1886. He was on it until 1894 and remained a member of Devonport Domain Board until at least 1902. Brown also represented the Council on Auckland Harbour Board for several years. [7] He was largely responsible for Devonport having a promenade from the dock to North Head, ensured that its streets were a chain wide and properly formed before they were handed over [4] and supported pumping water from Pupukemoana to a reservoir on Mount Victoria. [7] He was president of the Master Shipbuilders’ Federation for many years, [4] a Freemason Past Master and, for over thirty years, superintendent of the Church of England Devonport Sunday school. [7]
Brown married Annie Binns on 24 October 1861. [15] He was survived by her and their children - Walter, Frederick, Harold Brown, Mrs. T. Farquharson, Mrs. (Captain) Richards, Mrs. E. Pike, all of Auckland, Mrs. (Captain) Hardy, of Dunedin, 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. [4]
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