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Alfred Hamish Reed
Sir Alfred Hamish Reed CBE (30 December 1875 – 15 January 1975), generally known as A.H. Reed, was a New Zealand publisher, author and entrepreneur.
Alfred Hamish Reed was born at Hayes, Middlesex, in England on 30 December 1875, the son of James William Reed and Elizabeth Reed. He was the second oldest of four children to parents who were devout Baptists and raised their children accordingly. His father James managed a brick field but in 1882 purchased his own brick business in Walthamstow and moved his family to the area. Alfred Reed was educated at a small private school and then, from 1883, Maynard Road School. The family were all avid readers, and for Reed, books would prove to be a lifelong passion.
By 1886, James Reed's brick business was failing and had to close. This prompted him to migrate with his family to New Zealand. His maternal uncle lived there, in Motueka, and reported favourably on New Zealand in his letters to his sister, Alfred's mother. After a six-week voyage aboard the Arawa, the family arrived in Wellington in April 1887. They promptly travelled north to settle in Auckland but James Reed struggled to find employment. He eventually found work as a kauri gum digger in Northland while his family remained in Auckland. Elizabeth Reed supplemented the family's income through needlework. After several months, there was enough money to buy a block of land at Parahaki, to the east of Whangārei and the family moved there in late December 1887.
Living conditions were crude and the family lived simply, the parents instilling a strong work ethic in their children. Unable to find a Baptist church to attend, the family went to a Wesleyan Methodist church. They rejected an Anglican church that was closer to their home on the grounds that it was too conformist. Alfred Reed attended Whangarei Primary School from early 1888 but was soon withdrawn from it in favour of another school, operated on a part-time basis. Later in the year, he severely injured his leg to the point of being bedridden, with local doctors unable to diagnose the problem for 12 months. He was later sent to hospital in Auckland where infection of the femur bone was diagnosed. He stayed in hospital for a year, away from his parents who were unable to afford to visit him, and underwent three operations. He was eventually discharged in July 1890.
Returning to live with his parents, Reed was conscious of the burden that the expense of his medical care had caused his parents and in light of this, he decided to start working on the kauri gum fields alongside his father rather than finish his schooling. The work was hard, involving the extraction of gum from the ground and packing it. He also worked on the family's farmlet and would take occasional jobs cutting scrub or working on road construction. Realising he needed a skill to further himself, he decided to learn Pitman's shorthand; he hoped that this would lead to a career as a reporter.
By late 1895 Reed had become so proficient in shorthand he was sufficiently confident to go to Auckland to look for reporting work. Approaches made to the New Zealand Herald and the Auckland Star were turned down so he took the opportunity to take typewriter lessons. For accommodation, he boarded with a couple who lived on Karangahape Road and made the acquaintance of their daughter, Harriet Isabel Fisher. Like Reed, she and her parents were English immigrants who had settled in Auckland in 1885. Known to Reed as Belle, she was nine years older and a devout Wesleyan Methodist.
At the typewriting school, he made the acquaintance of T. G. DeRenzy, the co-owner and manager of the New Zealand Typewriter Company, who at the end of the year offered Reed a job as a shorthand writer and message boy. He soon parted ways with his employer to take up an Auckland agency for Remington Typewriter Company but this proved short-lived. In June 1896, he returned to the New Zealand Typewriter Company. He soon progressed from doing shorthand work to travelling around the North Island, selling and repairing typewriters. Impressed by Reed's work ethic, honesty and diligence, DeRenzy offered him the opportunity to set up an office for the company in Dunedin, a challenge that Reed accepted.
In October 1897, Reed moved to Dunedin to start in his new role. In doing so he left behind a fiancée, having proposed to Belle earlier that year. The couple had decided Belle would stay in Auckland since they could not afford to marry. Reed quickly found suitable premises for the company's office and began retailing and repairing typewriters. Despite some hiccups, he soon began building the business and took on staff. After a year in Dunedin, and having secured a payrise, Reed returned to Auckland and married Belle at Pitt Street Methodist Church on 28 January 1899. The couple immediately travelled to Dunedin where they rented a house and settled down to life together. They lived simply and quietly, doing most things together although Reed would indulge in long solitary walks.
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Alfred Hamish Reed
Sir Alfred Hamish Reed CBE (30 December 1875 – 15 January 1975), generally known as A.H. Reed, was a New Zealand publisher, author and entrepreneur.
Alfred Hamish Reed was born at Hayes, Middlesex, in England on 30 December 1875, the son of James William Reed and Elizabeth Reed. He was the second oldest of four children to parents who were devout Baptists and raised their children accordingly. His father James managed a brick field but in 1882 purchased his own brick business in Walthamstow and moved his family to the area. Alfred Reed was educated at a small private school and then, from 1883, Maynard Road School. The family were all avid readers, and for Reed, books would prove to be a lifelong passion.
By 1886, James Reed's brick business was failing and had to close. This prompted him to migrate with his family to New Zealand. His maternal uncle lived there, in Motueka, and reported favourably on New Zealand in his letters to his sister, Alfred's mother. After a six-week voyage aboard the Arawa, the family arrived in Wellington in April 1887. They promptly travelled north to settle in Auckland but James Reed struggled to find employment. He eventually found work as a kauri gum digger in Northland while his family remained in Auckland. Elizabeth Reed supplemented the family's income through needlework. After several months, there was enough money to buy a block of land at Parahaki, to the east of Whangārei and the family moved there in late December 1887.
Living conditions were crude and the family lived simply, the parents instilling a strong work ethic in their children. Unable to find a Baptist church to attend, the family went to a Wesleyan Methodist church. They rejected an Anglican church that was closer to their home on the grounds that it was too conformist. Alfred Reed attended Whangarei Primary School from early 1888 but was soon withdrawn from it in favour of another school, operated on a part-time basis. Later in the year, he severely injured his leg to the point of being bedridden, with local doctors unable to diagnose the problem for 12 months. He was later sent to hospital in Auckland where infection of the femur bone was diagnosed. He stayed in hospital for a year, away from his parents who were unable to afford to visit him, and underwent three operations. He was eventually discharged in July 1890.
Returning to live with his parents, Reed was conscious of the burden that the expense of his medical care had caused his parents and in light of this, he decided to start working on the kauri gum fields alongside his father rather than finish his schooling. The work was hard, involving the extraction of gum from the ground and packing it. He also worked on the family's farmlet and would take occasional jobs cutting scrub or working on road construction. Realising he needed a skill to further himself, he decided to learn Pitman's shorthand; he hoped that this would lead to a career as a reporter.
By late 1895 Reed had become so proficient in shorthand he was sufficiently confident to go to Auckland to look for reporting work. Approaches made to the New Zealand Herald and the Auckland Star were turned down so he took the opportunity to take typewriter lessons. For accommodation, he boarded with a couple who lived on Karangahape Road and made the acquaintance of their daughter, Harriet Isabel Fisher. Like Reed, she and her parents were English immigrants who had settled in Auckland in 1885. Known to Reed as Belle, she was nine years older and a devout Wesleyan Methodist.
At the typewriting school, he made the acquaintance of T. G. DeRenzy, the co-owner and manager of the New Zealand Typewriter Company, who at the end of the year offered Reed a job as a shorthand writer and message boy. He soon parted ways with his employer to take up an Auckland agency for Remington Typewriter Company but this proved short-lived. In June 1896, he returned to the New Zealand Typewriter Company. He soon progressed from doing shorthand work to travelling around the North Island, selling and repairing typewriters. Impressed by Reed's work ethic, honesty and diligence, DeRenzy offered him the opportunity to set up an office for the company in Dunedin, a challenge that Reed accepted.
In October 1897, Reed moved to Dunedin to start in his new role. In doing so he left behind a fiancée, having proposed to Belle earlier that year. The couple had decided Belle would stay in Auckland since they could not afford to marry. Reed quickly found suitable premises for the company's office and began retailing and repairing typewriters. Despite some hiccups, he soon began building the business and took on staff. After a year in Dunedin, and having secured a payrise, Reed returned to Auckland and married Belle at Pitt Street Methodist Church on 28 January 1899. The couple immediately travelled to Dunedin where they rented a house and settled down to life together. They lived simply and quietly, doing most things together although Reed would indulge in long solitary walks.