Thomas Pettit
Encyclopedia
Thomas Pettit was a city councillor and Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand
, a baker, temperance advocate, and Baptist
. He was born in Nelson in 1858 and died in Wellington on 6 July 1934. Pettit was the son of Charles Pettit who arrived in Nelson in the 1850s. His brother was F C Pettit. He was married to Isabella Haddow on 28 September 1882. They had six children, three sons and three daughters.
in the 1911 election. As Councillor he served on the Public Works, Reserves, and Cemetery Committees.
Pettit also exported fruit and general produce. He was also a Director of the Jenkins Hill Coal Prospecting Company. The association was renamed the Ennerglyn Coal Mining Company with Pettit remaining as a Director.
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Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, a baker, temperance advocate, and Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. He was born in Nelson in 1858 and died in Wellington on 6 July 1934. Pettit was the son of Charles Pettit who arrived in Nelson in the 1850s. His brother was F C Pettit. He was married to Isabella Haddow on 28 September 1882. They had six children, three sons and three daughters.
Local government
Pettit was elected a member of the city council in August 1902 and as Mayor in 1910. He was defeated by Thomas FieldThomas Field (politician)
Thomas Andrew Hemming Field was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party. He married Jessica Black, and they had four children. His eldest son Arthur Nelson Field was a journalist and right-wing author.- Wilkins and Field :...
in the 1911 election. As Councillor he served on the Public Works, Reserves, and Cemetery Committees.
Business
Pettit owned two businesses in Nelson "The Brick Store", a grocer and provision merchants on Waimea Road that he had bought from F C Pettit in 1883 and a soap manufacturing business, Haddow and Pettit, also in Waimea Road. In this business he was in partnership with William Haddow, a former Councillor and relative. William Philips had established the soap manufacturing business in 1876 with Haddow and Pettit taking over in 1896. Their "Hydroline" soap was sold throughout New Zealand. It was invented by W McLeod from Dunedin.Pettit also exported fruit and general produce. He was also a Director of the Jenkins Hill Coal Prospecting Company. The association was renamed the Ennerglyn Coal Mining Company with Pettit remaining as a Director.
Baptist
He was heavily involved in the Baptist Church from the 1870s, being superintendent of the Sunday school for 36 years, trustee, and treasurer of the church committee. Pettit was a temperance advocate, a Rechabite and Committee member of the YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
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