Wright Stephenson was a stock and station agency founded in

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 ...

, New Zealand, in 1861.

Foundation and development

The business was begun in 1861 as Wright, Robertson, & Co. by partners John T. Wright and Robert M. Robertson as a result of a population boom fueled by the

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 – ...

. Robertson left in 1868 and was replaced by auctioneer John Stephenson. Wright and Stephenson retired from the company in 1899. Due to significant growth in the volume of its business activities, ownership was switched to a public listed company in 1906. By 1972, just before merging with National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand (NMA), it had developed 27 stock and station branches throughout New Zealand with more than 100 further sub-branches and agencies to service farming areas throughout the country. As well, by the time of its centenary in 1961, the company had established managerial offices in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 15 sub-branches in Australia, and 4 sub-branches in Britain. After the merger with NMA, the company was known from 23 March 1972 as NMA Wright Stephenson Holdings Limited until 1973 when the name Challenge Corporation was assumed. Following the January 1981 merger of Challenge with Fletcher Holdings and

Tasman Pulp and Paper Tasman most often refers to Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer. Tasman may also refer to: Animals and plants * Tasman booby * Tasman flax-lily * Tasman parakeet (disambiguation) * Tasman starling * Tasman whale People * Tasman ( ...

— which did not provide the desired financial stability — the

Fletcher Challenge Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, ini ...

group was demerged in 2001. The stock and station agency operations now form a core part of the business

PGG Wrightson PGG Wrightson Limited is an agricultural supply business based in New Zealand. It was created in 2005 through the merger of Pyne Gould Guinness Ltd and Wrightson Limited and has its roots in a number of stock and station agencies dating back to ...

Business

On behalf of its farming clients, Wright Stephenson handled the sale and auction of livestock, wool, land, grain and seed as well as provided services to meet a range of agricultural and pastoral requirements. The company also promoted local livestock by supporting national shows, breed societies, and pastoral associations. Working capital and capital was provided to the farming industry together with advice on farm accounting, budgeting, taxation and estate planning.

Diversification

To dilute the seasonal and cyclical nature of their activities in the wool trade, Wright Stephenson developed extensive interests held in: * the motor vehicle industry including retail and wholesale trading and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

* home-appliance stores, a chain of more than a dozen throughout New Zealand's main centres * warehouses engaged in the wholesale distribution of hardware, pharmaceuticals, veterinary supplies and general merchandise * major holdings in a quoted company operating 27

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

* a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

developing shopping centres and major commercial buildings.

Stock and station agencies acquired

1916 * W & G Turnbull & Co established 1857 * W Gunson & Co established 1881 1920 * Abraham & Williams established 1884 1959 * Wairarapa Farmers' Co-operative Association established 1868 1961 * Buxtons established 1852Page 4, Large Companies, Forming PGG Wrightson, ''Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand''

Notable leaders

Wright Stephenson produced a number of New Zealand's most prominent businessmen of the 19th and 20th century including Sir William Hunt, David Allan, Sir Clifford Plimmer and Sir Ronald Trotter.

References

{{reflist New Zealand stock and station agencies Business services companies established in 1861 Defunct companies of New Zealand Companies based in Dunedin Companies based in Wellington Companies disestablished in 1981 New Zealand companies established in 1861 Agriculture companies established in the 19th century Agriculture companies disestablished in the 20th century