He then moved to St Helens, where he took part ownership in a chemical manufacturing business.
William emigrated to Napier about 1870 working for Newton & Co, before starting his own drapery business.
Similar to many business owners of the late 19th century, William Blythe was paternalistic in leadership of his firm. That is, he treated his employees as a patriarch and part of his large, extended family.
Even employees who had left Blythes had a reunion social ball held for them every year.
In 1901, William went around his employees asking them if they wanted to take shares in his business, and 80 shares in his company were taken up.
During 1902, Blythes' wooden store was rebuilt in brick and by 1908 it had frontages to Emerson and Hastings Streets.
Blythes would also operate stores elsewhere in Hawke's Bay.
William Blythe became unwell in 1903 and left for Australia to recuperate.
He travelled around Victoria and Queensland for several months, showing some improvement, but in December 1903 he took a turn for the worse.
Even on his deathbed in Sydney, his thoughts were with his employees.
Just before passing away he turned to a friend and said, "Please convey my kindest regards to the staff and wish them goodbye."
William's funeral was in Sydney, but his body was brought back to Napier to be interred in the Napier Hill cemetery. This was apparently against his wishes as he wanted to be buried next to his daughter in Sydney.
Wishing to commemorate the life of civic-minded William Blythe, his friends proposed a memorial fountain in his memory in Clive Square. This location was deemed suitable as during 1884-86 William had proposed that the southern part of Clive Square be beautified, and he raised funds to achieve this.
The Napier Borough Council was asked for permission in1904 to put the fountain in Clive Square and if they could arrange a supply of water for it. Permission was given if public subscriptions fully paid for the ornate Edwardian fountain, and the council would then supply the water for free.
During the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake the fountain's upper half was damaged and the upper bowl was not restored until 1999.
In 2015 the Blythe Memorial Fountain was repainted and underwent extensive maintenance by the Napier City Council.
William Blythe's business continued to be successful and although the shop was wrecked and then burnt during the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, it was rebuilt. It was thought no staff or customers were killed, however.
By December 1967 stock and station company Wright Stephenson took over Blythes. The Dannevirke store still remained then, and this was closed, and the stock was moved to a Wright Stephenson store down the road.
Wright Stephenson remodelled the Napier store into a department store, becoming Wright Stephenson in 1968.
In 1969 Wright Stephenson's retail division became Hays Wright Stephenson.
The stores were then called Haywrights, then D.I.C. after a takeover around 1980.
Competitor Arthur Barnett owned the D.I.C. stores in 1988, but in the early 1990s the Napier store was closed, along with many others throughout New Zealand.
From the 1990s, Farmers was the last large department store to occupy the former Blythes footprint of the Emerson St and Hastings St frontages, before moving to new premises in 2012.
The building was then remodelled for multiple tenancies.
• Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a contract researcher and commercial business writer of Hawke's Bay history.
