He then became a storekeeper in Hastings until he migrated to New Zealand from London on 24 July 1872[2] on the ship Asterope arriving at Nelson on 19 October 1872.

[3] Piper settled in Nelson, and ran the YMCA hostel on the corner or Bridge and Collingwood Street until 1883,[4] when he retired from business.

[6] Joseph Shephard resigned on 15 April 1885 from the Waimea electorate when he was appointed to the Legislative Council.

In May 1890, members of the Nelson Charitable Aid Board, including Piper, made a surprise visit to the Stoke Industrial School.

This discovery and other matters lead to the tabling of The Royal Commission Report on Stoke Industrial School, Nelson.

[14] Piper died at his Waimea Road residence in Nelson on 21 April 1920, aged 83,[1] and was buried at Wakapuaka Cemetery.