Diagnosed with asthma, Arthur Yates moved to New Zealand in December 1879 and worked as a farmhand near Otago for some two years.

In 1886, Yates returned to Australia and settled down in Sydney a year later, letting his younger brother Ernest be in charge of his New Zealand seed business.

On 13 November 1888, Yates married Caroline Mary Davies in Wellington, Shropshire, England.

[1] Meanwhile, Yates' main business became unrivalled in size and he established an office and warehouse in Sussex Street in 1896.

He was buried in Enfield Cemetery and his company remained in operation, first as a family business headed by his eldest son Harold, and later as Yates Seeds Limited.