Isaac Richardson Vialou (1816 – 31 October 1884) was a builder, architect and the first

Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand The mayor of Hamilton is the head of the municipal government of Hamilton, New Zealand, and presides over the Hamilton City Council. The incumbent is Paula Southgate, who was first elected in the 2019 local government elections. History Hamil ...

. He was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1858.

Early life and family

Isaac was born in 1816, married Elizabeth Wood on 28 January 1838 and was recorded as a bankrupt builder and decorator at 37

Fish Street Hill The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a fluted Doric column in London, England, situated near the northern end of London Bridge. Commemorating the Great Fire of London, it stands at the junct ...

, London in 1856. He described himself as an architect for the

London Armoury Company The London Armoury Company was a London arms manufactory that existed from 1856 until 1866. It was the major arms supplier to the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War. The same company name was used during World War I to import arms from Amer ...

, presumably when they built their factory in 1856. Their family consisted of at least two daughters, Emily and Louise, and a son.

Auckland

He emigrated to

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

in 1858 and by 1859 he was selling a farm near Otahuhu and a J R Vialou ('J' was often used for his first initial, even including his probate) was advertising as an architect at Smale's Point. He built several prominent buildings, including the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

courthouse on Chancery St in 1860. An 1863 advert for his Sanitary Depot in Victoria Street was for ‘‘''importers of stone, cement and building materials, manufacturers of bricks pipes etc, stockists of closets, lavatories, hand basins etc''’’. The brickworks was at

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and an original colonial name of Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to th ...

. Isaac must have returned to London, as he returned from there in 1863. By 1864 Isaac was running the Auckland Hotel. He also took on the Greyhound Hotel in 1867, but transferred it to I Vialou later that year and then, largely due to the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

, went bankrupt, though his family still owned property. His pig farm at Point Chevalier was sold under a court order in 1868 and he was in the

Debtors' Prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Historic ...

that year.

Hamilton

Isaac's fortunes must have improved quickly, for he sold a Panmure hotel in 1872 and was architect for Alfred Cox, to build the now

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

House, at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

the same year. Another of his houses on the NZ Historic Places Register is Maungawhare in Otumoetai, built in 1878. In 1872, he built his house and carriage works on Victoria St, between Hood and Collingwood Streets. In 1873 that Hamilton builder, wheelwright and blacksmith partnership with Thomasson & Co came to an end and became Vialou & Co, which made agricultural implements, mattresses, cabinets and picture frames, as well as being a builder, timber merchant, millwright, wheelwright, painter, surveyor and architect. He had one of his apprentices sentenced to 48 hours in the lock-up, with bread and water. However, he also hosted an annual dinner for his staff.

Mayor of Hamilton

He was elected to Hamilton Town Board in 1876, the same year that his architectural work was criticised in court. Voting was 90 : 72 : 8 when Isaac was elected as Hamilton's first mayor in 1878. The main issues during his term as mayor were a bridge over the Waikato and extension of the railway towards Thames. During the ceremony marking the end of his term as mayor, he started driving the first pile of the Union Bridge.

Retirement and death

After leaving office he remained on the council, until he resigned in 1882. He also continued with his business, such as building the Waikato Hotel in Hamilton East in 1879. An 1880 guide said, "''whatever he does is done in such a first-class style as cannot be excelled in Hamilton, or Auckland''. . . ''his establishment, taking it as a whole, is the most complete one of the kind in the colony.''" In 1881 he retired, passing his business on to others. The premises were put up for sale in 1885 and sold in 1886. Isaac became ill and returned to Auckland, before moving to

Ohinemutu Ohinemutu or Ōhinemutu is a suburb in Rotorua, New Zealand. It includes a living Māori village and the original settlement of Rotorua. Demographics The statistical area of Kuirau, which corresponds to Ohinemutu, covers and had an estimated p ...

in 1884, to manage Lake House Hotel. He died later that year, on Friday 31 October, after suffering, "''delicate health, and

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

''", aged 68.

Vialou Street

Vialou Street in Hamilton was named after their first mayor in 1913. The street was formed in 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vialou, Isaac Richardson 1816 births 1884 deaths Mayors of Hamilton, New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand hoteliers 19th-century New Zealand businesspeople English emigrants to New Zealand