Peter Hewitson and Ellen (nee Greenwood) Hewitson.
Michael Fowler is a contracted Hawke’s Bay author and historian mfhistory@gmail.com
Peter Hewitson hated cold weather, and living in Darlington, County Durham, England, there was plenty of that.
While completing his compulsory military service in Egypt in the Royal Air Force during 1947, Peter “really enjoyed the weather” – more specifically the heat.
Coming back to Darlington he told his girlfriend, textile mender Ellen Greenwood, no more cold, he was immigrating to a warmer climate – Australia.
Ellen, wanting to follow Peter, said to him: “Australia could be a little bit too hot for me – what about New Zealand?” They both agreed – New Zealand.
After World War II ended in 1945, both Australia and New Zealand faced labour-shortage crises.
In 1947, New Zealand’s Labour Government introduced an assisted immigration passage (Australia’s had begun in 1945) initially to single, skilled, United Kingdom people aged 20 to 35.
Those accepted were known as ‘ten pound Poms.” Ten pounds (2025: $575) as that was the cost of the subsidised passage, and Poms, as this was the nickname for British people immigrating to Australia and New Zealand after World War II.
A shortage of housing in New Zealand meant single people were given preference as they were easier to accommodate, so Peter and Ellen delayed any thoughts of marriage in the United Kingdom and began the process of getting accepted for assisted immigration passage to New Zealand.
This would take two years, in which Peter and Ellen were subject to vetting and medicals. Strict screening of potential immigrants was designed to weed out Nazis, fascists and communists. Despite this, the Government would later admit “one or two black sheep slipped past”.
A ship’s padre, Reverend Day, remarked: “While the greater number of passengers were decent and would make acceptable settlers, I just couldn’t understand how some of them got through.” He said this in response to some of them lighting fires during a voyage.
There would be no such worries with Peter and Ellen, who arrived on June 26, 1959 into Wellington Harbour aboard the Captain Cook, although ironically fire would be a large part of the couple’s future.
Reflecting on the voyage, Peter said they had two stops – Aruba, in the Caribbean, and when the ship went through the Panama Canal.
He said the Captain Cook “had few amenities, no cinema, no swimming pool, no freshwater showers – it was cold salt water”. There was a bar, “but it only served sherry and watered-down beer”.
In rough seas the ship’s propeller “would come out of the water”.
There was, however, a very happy occasion during the journey – Peter and Ellen became engaged.
They went to their separate living arrangements in Wellington, with Peter starting work at the New Zealand Postal and Telegraph Office and Ellen in a woollen mill.
New Zealand in the 1950s would prove to be a huge culture shock for United Kingdom immigrants – including Peter and Ellen. The couple “didn’t like it at all” and they felt there was very little to do here.
In its prime was the six o’clock swill in public bars, and Peter remarked of them: “It wasn’t lady friendly – the places were for men standing around a table drinking jugs.”
The marriage of Peter and Ellen took place in Wellington in November 1959 and they took up residence in a small bach in Woburn, Lower Hutt.
Miserable, due to the wet and cold weather – going home was not an option for Peter and Ellen before the two-year bond period, which meant repaying the fare at full cost (£120: $6900) and also the cost of getting back home.
Their best man, whom they had met on the ship, was living in Napier so they spent Christmas with him at the end of 1959, and they noticed this city had considerably better weather.
They fell in love with Napier, so they got new jobs and moved to Napier during 1960.
It was in Napier that they would build a home, start a family, change jobs, begin a cleaning business and move to and own a country store at Rissington.
While at Rissington in 1974, Peter – who had picked up the skill of sheetmetal work at a job since leaving the post office – built a woodburner for the house. He was fascinated by fire – more particularly, the warmth fires gave.
The Rissington store was not viable, and closed, and after finding a sheetmetal job in Napier, Peter started a business called Hawke’s Bay Sheet Metals with two other men.
Driving to work one day in 1982, Peter was listening to National Radio’s Morning Report, where he heard an interview with a scientist from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) stating they were giving away plans for an efficient woodburner they had developed.
Peter’s eyes lit up – he asked for the DSIR plans, and soon Hawke’s Bay Sheet Metals were making woodburners – the first one he named “The Lady Kitchener”.
Business was looking up, and they soon had a large order from Australia – but as can happen in business, things can go wrong very quickly. After borrowing $100,000 (equivalent to $325,000 today) to buy material, the deal fell over, resulting in Hawke’s Bay Sheet Metals going into liquidation.
With help from friends who lent him a workshop and equipment for free in 1986, he scraped together enough money to continue to make The Lady Kitchener and began again by himself.
There would be many challenges in the years to follow, but his love of woodburners, hard graft, perseverance and a supportive Ellen would see him through them all.
He once paid staff wages on the credit card until money came in from sales.
What kept him going through these times was a simple goal: to produce the most efficient woodburner – not in New Zealand, but the world.
By the early 2000s the business was branded as Firenzo, and thriving in Napier.
Peter Hewitson’s love for Napier has never wavered – and Firenzo has had multiple offers from bigger industry players to buy it out and move it to Auckland or the South Island. But despite the large dollars offered, his loyalty to his Napier employees was non-negotiable: it would remain a Napier-based company.
Today, 90-year-old Peter Hewitson still works at Firenzo in Niven St, Onekawa, with around 12 staff members, and co-owner Simon Thacker.
The Lady Kitchener is still produced, along with 18 other models.
The scooter rider suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital.