William Stevenson (New Zealand politician, born 1901)

[2][3] William Alfred Stevenson Married Ruby Charlotte Ross (b.1897) in 1924, and they lived in Bulls, Pahiatua and Sanson while WA moved around the north island for work.

[1] A keen fisherman, Stevenson was a member of the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club,[4] and was the first person in the world to catch a tuna, marlin and shark each weighing more than 1,000 lb (450 kg).

[6] In 1958, Stevenson purchased the 13,800 ha (34,000 acres) Lochinver Station on the Rangitaiki Plains between Napier and Taupō, and transformed it into a productive farming operation with a carrying capacity of over 100,000 stock units.

During World War II, W Stevenson & Sons Ltd was awarded several key military contracts and after the war it won major North Island construction contracts including those for much of Auckland's Southern Motorway, the Greenlane- Penrose bypass, the Glenbrook steel mill site and the Nihotupu  dam in the Waitakere Ranges.

This white weatherboard home, with its orange tiled roof and long driveway was surrounded by extensive lawns, orchards, and gardens, with 45 acres of adjacent farmland for grazing cattle and keeping horses.

In the garden wisteria grew over a pergola to shelter plants that favored dark and damp conditions, in later years this grotto became a favourite place for the grandchildren to play.

A film room was built at the house with a pull down screen and WA would bring home 16mm movies for the family and friends to enjoy on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

WA bought a 200 acre farm at Whitford during the war where he had horses, this was later sold at a reduced price on the understanding that it would be developed as a country club.

Years later, he did his best to turn a disused quarry beside Auckland's Lakė Pupuke into an international rowing course but eventually settled "for Lake Karapiro".

In spite of Sir William's extensive business interests, be found time for local-body politics, fishing, breeding horses and financing Lochinver Station on the Napier/Taupo Road which was developed by his son, Ross Snr.

In 1979 Sir William broke a five-year-old world fishing record, catching a Black Marlin off Cairns weighing 1,231.5 lbs.

In 1954 Sir William coached Don Rowlands to the Empire Games in Vancouver, where another double achievement was realised when he was made Manager of the Rowing Team.

With interests in the Waikato – Roose Shipping etc., Sir William came closer to the Mercer Rowing Club where he coached a four to take the NZ Championship at Invercargill in 1955.

That crew consisted of Charlie Lofroth, Paul Bridgeman, Bob Parker and Norm Cox,  all of whom worked for W. Stevenson & Sons Limited at some stage.

So it was, that after several months of hard training, lots of practice and perseverance on behalf of Sir William, he had the satisfaction of seeing his crew win the Thompson Memorial on the Tamaki River.

All this, along with the assistance given many crews from clubs and colleges around the Province made Sir William one of the leading figures in the New Zealand rowing world.

In June 1976 Queensland's Cape Moreton, famous for its great white sharks whose feeding grounds were associated with the now discontinued whaling stations, was chosen for the most likely success.

On many occasions through the years his yearlings topped the national sales and he had in many cases added delight of watching his foals turn into winners.

Moonmist (the only horse mentioned here not bred from his own mares) was winner of eight races and gave Brian Andrews his 100th win in the 1971 season, making him only the 4th jockey at that time to enjoy such success.

His last purchase was a yearling named Empire Lobell now rated as an open class trotter and since Sir William's death in 1983 had been raced by Bill, Jack and Ross Stevenson with moderate success.

In 1950 he was named Manager of the Empire Games Rowing Camp at Karapiro, having spent months totally landscaping and grassing over half a mile of the riverbank to provide spectator accommodation for thousands of people at his own cost.

He assisted numerous sporting clubs with funds and services, from Rugby League to Golf – a four-oared boat for the Rotorua Rowing Club – a rowing training tank in Auckland – funds for overseas competition for athletes of all codes – laying the Lovelock athletic track –  where others just talked about, Sir William moved in and did it.

Stevenson of Howick as being awarded the OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for Service in the field of Sport and Social Welfare and he was invested by the Queen at Wellington, during the Royal Tour of that year.

Perhaps Sir William's proudest after many years of association with all codes of sport culminated in his appointment as manager of the NZ team to the Tokyo Olympics.

As his business flourished and Sir William turned his hand to the administration of its growth, he was able to give back to his community some of the fruits of his endeavors, Sir William played an active part in local body politics for sixteen years-  nine of those years were spent as Mayor of Howick, during which time he offered as a gift to the Government in 1958 the family farm at Cockle Bay, for the Vice-Regal Residence (the property we know now as Waikiteroa Subdivision): drained and  developed Nixon Park for Bowling Greens;  provided grants of thousands of dollars to local sporting clubs, schools and service organisations.

In 1968 Sir William and Lady Stevenson provided funds to purchase the historic Shamrock Cottage which they handed over to the Howick Borough council enabling  restoration work to be carried out.

In keeping with his marine interests, Sir William sponsored the late Kelly Tarlton and co-diver Wade Doak in 1968 in the excavation and salvage of the "Boyd", which was burnt and sunk in Whangaraoa Harbour in 1809.

Boaties who have strained their eyes in the darkness looking for a safe approach to Kawau Island have probably heaved a sigh of relief once sighting the familiar "Martello 'light, to guide them past the dangers of the outer reefs.

One was placed on Martello Rock, the other on Kawati Point and named, on Sir William's instruction, Dyson and Thornton lights respectively after two former Senior Auckland Engineers.

In 1965 he financed a lecture course in Auckland in cardiac surgery and heart-lung physiology attended by the worlds leading surgeons, amongst them, Dr Christiaan Barnard.

Sir William Alfred Stevenson KBE CStJ
Stevenson (year unknown)
An aerial of the Homestead at Waikiteroa
Ruby's gardening loves were ferns kept in an enclosed verandah, and a rockery planted with bluebells and other traditional plants.  WA took care of the vast rose collection and the myriad of fruit trees. In the garden wisteria grew over a pergola to shelter plants that favored dark and damp conditions, in later years this grotto became a favorite place for the grandchildren to play.
An undated picture of Lady Ruby Stevenson
An undated picture of Lady Ruby Stevenson, (expected to be from the early 70s)
Sir William was New Zealand's Single Sculls national title holder in 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1927.
New Zealand Olympic Team 1964
This group of New Zealanders, who are members of the New Zealand Team for the Olympic Games have won a total of two Olympic, four Empire Games and thirty-six New Zealand titles.  Sitting in front is chaperone Mrs Zelda Bridgens who twice won the NZ long jump title, is the only woman to ever defeat the former Olympic champion and world record holder Yvette Williams in a long jump championship. Looking quite cheerful at their Olympic prospects are Bill Baillie, winner of eleven NZ championships and holder of the world one hour and 20,000 metres best times. Olympic and 800 metres champion Empire Games half and one mile titleholder, world 800 metres, 880 yards and one miles record holder Peter Snell, who won six national titles; manager Bill Stevenson winner of six NZ rowing titles; Olympic 5000 metres champion, Murray Halberg, who has twice won the Empire Games 3 mile championship, holds the world record for 3 miles and has won eleven NZ championships. (clipping undated)
Philanthropy in medicine
Sir William believed that to keep our top surgeons in NZ, equipment and instruments had to be provided for them and to perform the top level operations done overseas.  In keeping with his belief he donated a heart-lung machine and equipment for open-heart surgery to the Mater Hospital in 1969. This enabled surgery as well as instruction to be carried out privately, thus releasing the pressure from the public hospitals.  This was followed by a further gift of two operating tables which he dedicated to Sir Carrick Robertson, a leading Auckland Specialist and Surgeon.