Willi Fels (17 April 1858 – 29 June 1946) was a New Zealand merchant, collector and philanthropist.

Biography

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 17 April 1858. Fels had a keen interest in history and classics, but rather than going to university he became manager of the family's woollen mill near

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

. Fels was visited by his uncle,

Bendix Hallenstein Bendix Hallenstein (c. 24 January 1835 – 6 January 1905) was a German-born Jewish merchant, statesman, and Manufacturing, manufacturer from Dunedin, New Zealand. He is best known for founding the retail clothing store Hallenstein Brothers, Hal ...

, in 1881, and married Sara, one of Hallenstein's daughters in the same year. Willi and Sara had three daughters Helene, Emily and Kate; and one son Harold who was killed in World War I. Hallenstein had become prominent in the New Zealand city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

as a merchant in the years immediately following the 1862

Central Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

, and in 1888 the Fels moved to Dunedin to join Hallenstein's family business,

Hallenstein Brothers Hallensteins Glassons is a New Zealand fashion company based in Auckland, with stores in New Zealand and Australia. Brands Hallensteins Brothers Hallenstein Brothers (often shortened to Hallensteins) is a men's fashion, street and lifestyle ret ...

. Fels eventually became managing director of this firm and the connected Drapery and General Importing Company. Fels was an avid collector, and his journeys through the young colony on business afforded him the opportunity to collect Māori and Polynesian art and artefacts. He also collected ethnological art and artefacts from southern and eastern Asia (such as

Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

), and many classical artifacts and historical literature. He established the first fund for the purchasing ethnological collections at the Otago Museum who subsequently names the Fels Wing of the museum in his honour. After the death of Fels' only son Harold (1891-1917) who was killed in action in France in World War I, Fels decided to bequeath his collection to the

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

, and also began a fund which greatly increased the museum's collections. In 1930, a new wing, the Fels Wing, was added to the museum.Morrell, W.P. (1969) ''The University of Otago: A centennial history.'' Dunedin: Otago University Press. pp 141–142. Total additions to the museum's collection by Fels, either during his lifetime or through his will, totalled over 70,000 pieces and funds of some £25,000. Many of his most valuable books were also donated to the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

's library. These included many first editions, illuminated manuscripts, and other rare works. The university also benefitted from Fels' endowment of a lectureship in ethnology during the 1920s. In 1935, Fels was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

, for services to ethnology in New Zealand, in the

1936 New Year Honours The 1936 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1935. The recipients of honour ...

. He died at his residence in Dunedin in 1946 and his ashes were interred at the Southern Cemetery in a plot with Bendix Hallenstein.Willi Fels
Dunedin City Council cemetery database. Retrieved 12 July 2013. Fels' family were prominent in the arts and culture of southern New Zealand for many years, his cousins, the De Beers (including

Esmond Samuel de Beer Esmond Samuel de Beer (15 September 1895 – 3 October 1990) was a New Zealand scholar, editor, collector, bibliophile and philanthropist. He was born in Dunedin, Otago, on 15 September 1895. De Beer was the grandson of Dunedin businessman Bendix H ...

), and grandson

Charles Brasch Charles Orwell Brasch (27 July 1909 – 20 May 1973) was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal ''Landfall'', and through his 20 years of editing the journal, had a significant im ...

also making a permanent mark on the country's cultural life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fels, Willi 1858 births 1946 deaths New Zealand philanthropists German emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century German Jews New Zealand art collectors Businesspeople from Dunedin New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Burials at Dunedin Southern Cemetery Hallenstein family People associated with Otago Museum