Mt Victoria has been the home to a host of interesting people over the years, some famous, some not. Browse the selection below, which is presented in alphabetical order.
A
B
Charles Baeyertz was a writer and critic who lived at 13 Austin Street.
George Baker was a builder/developer who lived at 70 Brougham Street.
Mel Bogard lived in Armour Ave.
Edward Bonthorne was an ironmonger and ‘citizen soldier’ who lived at 55 Pirie St.
C
D
E
Kate Edger, the first woman in New Zealand to get a university degree, lived at 49 Porritt Avenue.
John Cole Edwards lived at 89 Brougham Street.
F
James Farley, butcher of 12 Marjoribanks Street [newsletter 27]
General Bernard Freyberg lived at several addresses on Hawker Street (40, 43 [then 27] and 60).
G
Sir Alexander Gray lived at 111 Brougham Street. He was to become a prominent New Zealand lawyer.
H
Robert Chisenhall Hamerton – Victoria Bowling Club founder
J
K
William Kembell was the theatre businessman behind the construction of what is now known as the Embassy Theatre (then the De Luxe)
L
Pat Lawlor, an important literary figure in New Zealand in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, lived at 6 Hawker Street for a number of years.
Lipman Levy was one of Wellington’s earliest entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Lipman Street and Levy Street are named after him.
Alfred Lewis, partner in cordial makers Thomson Lewis, built 19 and 21 Porritt Avenue. He founded the Courtenay Place Congregational Church.
M
John McKay, Victoria Bowling Club, 21 Kent Tce.
Walter L Meek – Victoria Bowling Club founder, 6 Austin Street.
Boulton Molineaux was one of the founding members of the Victoria Bowling Club.
James Harper Mouat lived at 28 Marjoribanks Street after making money as a gold miner on the South Island’s West Coast.
P
John Paterson a builder and partner in Paterson and Martin, built the Wellington Town Hall.
Francis Penty – designed 89 Brougham Street.
Sir Arthur Porritt was a Governor General and Olympic athlete. Porritt Avenue is named after him.
Q
Queen Victoria is Mt Victoria’s namesake, and her statue is prominent in the middle of the Kent and Cambridge Terraces.
R
Sir Alfred Robin established New Zealand’s first professional army. He lived at 46 Roxburgh St.
Captain Renner was a sea captain who lived at 8 Macfarlane Street.
Rouse and Hurrell was a company of coachbuilders.
S
George Shannon was a businessman who lent his name to Shannon Street in Mt Victoria.
David Thomson Stuart was one of the founders of the Victoria Bowling Club.
T
Charles Taylor was a carpenter whose diaries are a lively record of his voyage to New Zealand in early 1879 and his new life in Wellington, including Mt Victoria.
Mary Taylor wrote about her time in colonial Wellington to her friend, novelist Charlotte Bronte.
The Tutchen family once ran a dairy farm on Brougham Hill.
W
William Waring Taylor, a businessman, politician, and property owner, built a large house in “fancy colonial” style at 7 Paterson Street. Waring Taylor Street was named after him.
Watson family Emma and John Watson lived in Hawker St. A book has been published about them. They had nine children. Emma wrote poetry.
George Winder was the original owner of the large residence once called Victoria House, at 58 Pirie Street.
Charles Wycherley was a saddle manufacturer who lived in Pirie Street and Brougham Street.