Sir John McKenzie

Sir John McKenzie was the epitome of the self-made man - honest, hardworking and generous.  He not only established a retail chain that became a household name but became a leading philanthropist.

One of seven children of Scottish immigrants, John was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1876.  His father was a customs officer.  He left school aged 13, working at odd jobs including delivering newspapers.  John also got to know horses through his uncle’s farm - knowledge put to good use when the Boer War broke out in 1899 and years later when he bred horses for harness racing.

He enlisted in the Victorian Bushmen’s Regiment and served for nearly two years in South Africa before being invalided home in 1901.

Saving one hundred pounds, he set up shop with his 16 year old sister, Ella, in Collingwood Melbourne in 1905; within a year they had opened another fancy-goods store at nearby Richmond, which Ella managed.  The business was so successful that they were bought out by competition in 1908.  The sale agreement prevented John from carrying on business in Melbourne, so he ran stores in Tasmania and in Sydney.

The story is told of a fire that engulfed the building that housed both the shop and the McKenzies' residence.  The sale of fire-damaged goods was so successful that apparently John bought more goods from the wholesaler, quickly drenched them with a hose and added them to the sale stock!  This experience taught him the value of quick turnover.

After a holiday visit to New Zealand in 1909, he transferred his business to New Zealand the following year.  The first McKenzie store opened in Dunedin and the business grew rapidly.  It became a public company in 1936 and 50% of Sir John’s shares were transferred to Rangatira, a private investment company.

During this period, Ella married John McKenzie’s accountant, George Carter. George and Ella followed JR to New Zealand.  George was involved in the financial management of the business until his premature death in 1934, and their son Hugh served as a senior manager in McKenzies for more than three decades.

By 1980, when the business was taken over by L D Nathan & Co, McKenzies (NZ) comprised 75 stores employing 1800 people.  Sir John had a reputation as an astute businessman and a tough taskmaster.  The company name disappeared but the family name lives on in a number of charitable endeavours. 

Sir John and his wife May raised two sons, Don and Roy.  Sadly, Don died in World War Two.

Sir John's compassion for less fortunate people, and his admiration for people who try, are illustrated by another story.   Driving one day from Ashburton to Christchurch, he passed a man in a wheelchair pushing himself along the road.  He stopped and inquired where the man was going.  The answer was  "Christchurch" – still many miles distant.   Impressed, he not only gave the man a lift, but shortly after sent the man a motorised wheelchair.

Sir John set up the J R McKenzie Youth Education Fund in 1938 with a gift of £10,000, and the J R McKenzie Trust in 1940 with £100,000.  He was a staunch Rotarian and involved Rotary in his charitable work, preferring not to be involved directly in the operation of the Trust.

He was also one of the nation’s most successful breeders of trotting horses at his Roydon Lodge stud near Christchurch, to which he retired.