Henry Ashton Highet, commonly known as Harry Highet, (27 January 1892 – 2 February 1989) was a New Zealand

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

famous for his P-class yacht design. This class is famous for being the sailing trainer vessel for many new entrants into the sport, and virtually every famous New Zealand yachtsman, including Sir Peter Blake and Russell Coutts, learnt to sail in one.

Early life and family

Higlet was born in Wellington in 1892, the son of Scottish immigrants Thomas Morton and Isabella Highet. He was the youngest of nine children. Harry's father was an ironmonger and later worked at the Evans Bay Patent slip, introducing Harry to shipbuilding from a young age. Higlet's sister, Mary, married George Page, Mayor of Nelson from 1935 to 1941.Marriages, Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, 29 May 1905, Page2 Higlet was also involved in many railway construction projects in his capacity as an engineer for the New Zealand Ministry of Works.

External links

Tauranga Yacht Club - P Class

References

1892 births 1989 deaths New Zealand public servants New Zealand people of Scottish descent New Zealand yacht designers People from Wellington City 20th-century New Zealand engineers Harry Highet {{sailing-stub