Pamela Margaret Jean Williams (née Pearce; 4 July 1933 – 5 October 2021) was a New Zealand businesswoman and philanthropist. She was the founder or co-founder of six companies, including Wanganui Seafoods, one of the largest seafood export businesses in New Zealand. She was a benefactor of many organisations in and around her home town of

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

, including the

Sarjeant Gallery The Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui at Pukenamu, Queen's Park Whanganui is currently closed for redevelopment. The temporary premises at Sarjeant on the Quay, 38 Taupo Quay currently house the Sarjeant Collection, and all exhibitions a ...

and

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hamp ...

. In 2017, Williams was inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpr ...

Early life and family

Born on 4 July 1933, Williams was raised on a farm in the Waitōtara Valley, north of Whanganui. She was home-schooled until her last two years of secondary education when she boarded at

Woodford House Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local ...

. Her father, Frank Pearce, died when she was a teenager, and she and her two brothers took over the running of the farm. She married a local farmer, Evan Williams, and they had two daughters, but the marriage ended in the late 1960s.

Business career

Williams established Wanganui Trawlers with local lawyer Gordon Swan, initially with one trawler fishing inshore waters and supplying local fish and chip shops. When the New Zealand exclusive economic zone was extended to 200 miles in 1977, Williams gained an offshore

fishing quota Catch share is a fishery management system that allocates a secure privilege to harvest a specific area or percentage of a fishery's total catch to individuals, communities, or associations. Examples of catch shares are individual transferable quot ...

that allowed the business to expand. Joint ventures with Korean, Japanese and Russian fishing companies followed, and the company grew to a peak of 200 full-time staff, exporting to 16 countries. In 1994, she sold the business to Sanford Limited for $36.5 million. Williams subsequently served as chair of the Fisheries Authority Committee and was on the board of the

Accident Compensation Corporation The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC sch ...

for nine years. In 1993, she was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

, and in the

1997 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1997 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, she was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services. In 2017, Williams was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.

Philanthropy

Following the sale of Wanganui Seafoods, Williams was active in Whanganui community organisations. She was a board member of the Cooks Gardens Trust, and served on local job-creation organisations. She made financial contributions to community groups including the Waimarie Riverboat Trust, Bushy Park, Sport Whanganui, and the Sargeant Gallery, to which she gave $1 million.

Death

Williams died in Whanganui on 5 October 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Pam 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Whanganui People educated at Woodford House New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand women in business New Zealand philanthropists Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 Companions of the Queen's Service Order