Sir Jack Wolfred Ashford Harris, 2nd Baronet (23 July 1906 – 26 August 2009) was a New Zealand businessman, and the second baronet of the Harris Baronetcy of Bethnal Green, County of London which was created for his father Sir Percy Harris (1876–1952) in 1932. Frieda Harris was his mother. He succeeded to the title in 1952. Harris was born in London, and educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

and Trinity Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

where he received a BA. He came to New Zealand in 1926. Harris was chief executive (1936–1970) of Bing, Harris and Co., a New Zealand general importing and exporting company established in 1858 by his grandfather, Wolf Harris (1858–1926). He later lived in

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōt ...

near

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. He died aged 103 on 26 August 2009 at a rest home in the suburb of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

in Porirua. Upon his death, he was succeeded as baronet by his son, Christopher John Ashford Harris, as 3rd Baronet.

References

*''Memoirs of a Century'' by Sir Jack Harris (2007, Steele Roberts) *''Obituary'' in Dominion Post of 5 September 2009 page B6 *''Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'', page 1077-8 (1959, 102nd edition) *''Who’s Who in New Zealand'' (1991, 12th edition)
Photo from ''Dominion Post'' on his 103rd birthday
1906 births 2009 deaths 302 English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand centenarians Men centenarians Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople People educated at Shrewsbury School People from Waikanae {{NewZealand-business-bio-stub