20 Facts About Henry Kelliher

Sir Henry Joseph Kelliher was a New Zealand businessman, brewer, publisher, managing director, art patron and credit reformer.

Henry Joseph Kelliher was born in Waikerikeri, near Clyde in Central Otago, New Zealand on 2 March 1896; the son of an Irish immigrant Michael Keliher who came to New Zealand during the Goldrush in Central Otago.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914 Kelliher enlisted with the Otago Mounted Rifles as served as a Trooper until he was transferred during service at Gallipoli in 1915.

Henry Kelliher survived the Gallipoli campaign and served in France at the Somme in a specialised Trench Warfare mortar team until he was gassed and invalided to Britain in 1917.

Henry Kelliher pulled out of farming to invest in the Marquis of Normanby Hotel in Carterton, one of the few licensed drinking venues in the Wairarapa area due to the dry-state that the town of Masterton had been placed in several years earlier.

From 1922 Henry Kelliher chose to base himself in Auckland where he saw the potential for investment opportunities and soon began acquiring agent licences for key brands of spirit such as Dewar's White Label Whisky in 1926.

Henry Kelliher invested in the New Zealand magazine Ladies Mirror in which he promoted the rights of progressive women and extolled the rights of women, particularly those widowed young after the war, to engage in education and trade.

Henry Kelliher used this magazine to begin his campaign on monetary reform after he took editorial control of the magazine in 1930.

Henry Kelliher chose however to continue his business ventures, choosing to invest with a South Auckland Brewing family run by Morton Coutts.

Henry Kelliher used his investment prowess to continue to purchase hotels and other drinking establishments across New Zealand to promote the brands he was creating as well as acquiring other leading international and local beer and spirit brands; these actions leading to the Australian Stock exchange considering Dominion Breweries one of the leading enterprises of New Zealand.

Henry Kelliher served in this capacity from 1936 to 1942, when despite the war, he felt his principles had to take precedence over what he felt was inappropriate financial action on behalf of the Government.

Henry Kelliher oversaw the embarkment of several consignments of lager for the servicemen stationed in the Middle east.

Henry Kelliher has begun his engagement in Philanthropy through the magazine, Ladies Mirror in the early 1930s but it was in 1956 when he created the Henry Kelliher Art Prize, that this became a leading component of his investment.

Henry Kelliher established the Kelliher Economic Prize for schools which was initially established in 1963 and is still annually awarded.

Henry Kelliher had been previously married but widowed at an early age.

Henry Kelliher stepped down from active involvement in Dominion Breweries in 1982, taking on the Honorary title of Founding President.

Henry Kelliher stayed semi-active in the community until his death in September 1991 at the age of 95.

Henry Kelliher was survived by his daughters, grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Henry Kelliher was buried in Hillsborough Cemetery in Auckland overlooking Manukau Harbour and Puketutu Island.

In 1998, Henry Kelliher was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.