Henry Family of New Zealand

The Henry family originated in Scotland and migrated to New Zealand in the 1870s, where they played a major role in forestry, industry, law and philanthropy.

They had originally worked as foresters and timbermillers in their homeland and buttressed by their staunch Presbyterian faith and a regimented ethic for hardwork, they established what was to become one of New Zealand's largest industrial enterprises.

The Encyclopedia of New Zealand recognises the Henry family as being one of the three great Scottish industrialist families that settled in New Zealand in the 19th Century - the others being the Fletcher family (founders of Fletcher Construction, see James Fletcher (industrialist) ) and the Todd family (founders of Todd Motor Company and Todd Petroleum, see Todd Corporation Ltd). One branch of the family also later became extensively involved in law.

New Zealand Forest Products

New Zealand Forest Products (NZFP) was New Zealand's largest industrial company from its creation (following the consolidation of the New Zealand timbermilling sector) in 1936 until the privatisation of state-owned Telecom New Zealand in 1990.

The Henry family had originally established a small timbermilling operation near Riverton in Southland Region on arriving in New Zealand in the 1870s. By the 1930s they had expanded with several other operations around the country and were responsible for processing felled logs into timber for export.

In 1936 there was substantial consolidation in the New Zealand timber industry when the Henry's milling assets were combined with the assets of New Zealand Perpetual Forests, a bond-selling forestry company that had gone bankrupt with 150,000 hectares of plantations. Sir David Henry KBE was responsible for negotiations and this saw the creation of New Zealand Forest Products (NZFP).

The company continued to expand following World War II and was a large-scale manufacturer of structural timber, board and other packaging products. Following the construction of the Kinleith Mill at Tokoroa in 1953, NZFP became a substantial manufacturer of pulp and paper products. The company owned some 250,000 hectares of forestry plantations, with a further 300,000 hectares under long-term Crown leases from the New Zealand Government.

Another member of the family, Jack Henry, was the Director of the Kinleith Division and the Forests Division. He pioneered new methods in silviculture which saw the company achieve major efficiency gains that turned NZFP into one of the largest forestry companies globally. He was the last Henry to sit on the board of NZFP, however, retiring in 1986 as several aggresive corporate raiders circled the corporation.

Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, NZFP was the target of several takeover attempts including a joint bid by Goodman Fielder (the Australian/New Zealand flour miller) and Watties Industries (the New Zealand canned food manufacturer) given its strong asset profile. This joint bid failed, but was soon followed by another unsuccessful $1.9 billion bid by Fletcher Challenge in 1985. NZFP was successful in defending itself against these local corporations, however, in 1986 the company was finally acquired by the Australian conglomerate Elders Resources, a subsidiary of Elders IXL (the vehicle of Australian corporate raider, John Elliot, see John Elliott (businessman)). Elliot mounted a successful hostile takeover that valued the company at $3.0 billion and the company became known post-acquisition as Elders NZFP Corporation.

Following a bitter battle over the bid, the Henry family agreed to sell to the Australian raider and this effectively ended the Henry family's 110 years of involvement in New Zealand industry.

The assets of NZFP continue to operate to this day. Following the collapse of Elders NZFP in 1988 following the stockmarket crash, the assets were purchased by Carter Holt Harvey (CHH), another smaller New Zealand forestry company. The purchase of the NZFP assets tripled the size of CHH and boosted its revenues by 60% to top NZ$7.0 billion (then a record for any New Zealand corporate).

Law

Following the family's success in becoming one of New Zealand's leading industrialists, several members of the Henry extended family became involved in law, playing a pivotal role over several generations.

The Hon. Sir Trevor Henry graduated from law school at the University of Auckland in 1922 and went on to found the Auckland law firm Wilson Henry (this firm continues to this day as Hesketh Henry). He was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1955 and was knighted in 1971 for his services to Her Majesty's legal system.

His son, the Rt Hon John Henry DCNZM QC was to follow his father into the legal profession and was senior partner of Wilson Henry for many years before he was appointed as a Queen's Counsel. He continued in private practice as a barrister until 1984 when he was appointed to the bench of the High Court of New Zealand. He was later appointed a Privy Counsellor (see Privy Council of the United Kingdom), and was knighted as a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001.

Another brother of Sir Trevor's, Clive Henry, also graduated from law school at the University of Auckland and went on to found the Hamilton legal firm, Harkness Henry, which continues to this day. He was a key figure in the Waikato legal community and was to provide the future Dame Sylvia Cartwright PCNZM (former Governor General of New Zealand) with her first job as a young solicitor in the family firm.

Brian Henry graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1973 and became a senior partner at Wilson Henry in Auckland (now Hesketh Henry) before establishing his own practice as a barrister. He has maintained a high public profile, undertaking major litigation including the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Taxation (commonly referred to as the "Winebox Inquiry"), being successful in the subsequent Judicial Review of the Winebox Inquiry, representing directors in litigation following the collapse of the Equiticorp conglomerate in 1987, and other pro bono work (representing victims of the RSA murders in their litigation against the New Zealand Parole Board, and representing Polynesian immigrant families who were the victims of unscrupulous buyback financial schemes).

Philanthropy and Community Involvement

In keeping with their role as one of New Zealand's largest industrialist families, the Henry's became very involved in the New Zealand community and were well regarded as philanthropists. Their focus on charity and giving is a reflection of their long-held Presbyterian faith and this focus continues to this day in different guises.

The most well known member of the family from this perspective is undoubtedly Sir David Henry KBE. He used his business success in Auckland, which had become the thriving commercial heart of New Zealand by the 1930s, to become increasingly involved with a wide range of organisations, including the Rotary Club (becoming National President), the Boy Scouts’ Association, and the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA). From a business perspective, he was also an active member of the Auckland Manufacturers’ Association and this led to his election as President of the National Manufacturers' Association. He also stood for public office and was elected as a councillor to the Auckland City Council (from 1931–33). He believed passionately in education, endowing a forestry scholarship bearing his name in 1956 to provide overseas training for employees of NZFP. On his death he also bequeathed a substantial trust to the Auckland Presbyterian Orphanages and Social Service Association. The funding provided by this trust and later contributions made by both the family and other outside sources continues to this day as one of New Zealand's largest charitable orgationisations, Presbyterian Support.

An earlier, and far less known, member of the family was Sister Annie Henry MBE JP. Sister Annie was originally a teacher, but buttressed by her strong Presbyterian faith, she graduated from Deaconess College in 1920 and devoted her life to the education and betterment of the Maori people as a missionary in the remote Urewera Ranges of New Zealand. She was a pioneer of indigenous issues and as a direct result of her work, several Maori became prominent ministers in the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. [from Dictionary of NZ]

The Hon. Sir Trevor Henry was a justice in the Supreme Court of New Zealand and was also involved following his retirement in a number of public service roles including being Chairman of the War Pensions Review Board, a member of the New Zealand Parole Board and a member of the New Zealand Olympic Games Selection Committee of 1936.

Community-giving is continued to this day by the legal practice of barrister, Brian Henry. While running a substantial corporate litigation practice in Auckland, he also undertakes large-scale pro bono cases on critical points of law where the parties involved would otherwise be unable to afford such large-scale litigation. His involvement includes the Winebox Inquiry and the follow-up Judicial Review, the litigation case following the infamous RSA murders, and his work to ensure that immigrant families were not left homeless by finance companies that undertook unscrupulous "buyback" financial schemes.

The modern family

The Henry family have often been described as reserved and continue to shun personal publicity. Following the hostile takeover of NZFP, the family have largely retreated from the public business community and have maintained an even lower public profile. Much of their activities are now believed to be based in Australia, headquartered in Brisbane, but they still retain business interests in New Zealand and remain large land owners.

The most public face of the family today is Brian Henry, but this public profile is limited to the large pro bono legal cases that his corporate legal practice handles. He was involved as legal counsel for Winston Peters in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Taxation that was established in 1990 to hear allegations of widespread tax fraud in New Zealand during the 1980s, the socalled "Winebox Inquiry." Other prominent New Zealanders to be involved in this case include the merchant bankers Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite (of the NZ investment bank Fay Richwhite). Other large pro bono legal cases undertaken include representing Susan Couch in suing the New Zealand Parole Board following the RSA murders, and representing Polynesian immigrants who lost their homes in controversial buyback financial schemes.

The family has also now established a capital management business, Goldman Henry Capital ( [http://www.goldmanhenry.com] ), which raises funds from the New Zealand investing public under prospectus to invest in various international investment vehicles.

Very little is known about the next generation of the family apart from biographical references and rare media mentions (In 1993 it was reported in the national press and later in the book written by Ian Wishart, the Paradise Conspiracy, that Brian Henry's son - David Henry Junior - was the subject of a failed kidnap attempt at exclusive Auckland boarding school, the King's School). He now works as an investment banker for UBS in Sydney.

ources

*New Zealand Forest Products - Healy, B. A Hundred Million Trees: The story of New Zealand Forest Products. Auckland, 1982
*Sir David Henry - Obit. New Zealand Herald. 21 Aug. 1963 (Section 2): 5 and Obit. New Zealand Timber Journal 10, No 1 (Sept. 1963): 27, 35
*The Paradise Conspiracy - Wishart, I. Auckland, 1996
*Who's Who in New Zealand (Sir David Henry, Sir Trevor Henry, Rt Hon John Henry, Brian Henry)
*Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Scots and the Economy - http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/Scots/11/en
*Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Missionaries in the Ureweras - http://www.teara.govt.nz/Places/BayOfPlenty/BayOfPlentyPlaces/13/en
*Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Sir David Henry - http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/H/HenrySirDavid/HenrySirDavid/en