George Gabites Senior (1829–1914)
Draper, shopkeeper, councillor, and community man — the first of the Gabites brothers to make Timaru home
George Gabites From Gabites family history book
George Gabites was born in Owston Ferry, Lincolnshire, in 1831, one of a large family raised along the flat farmland of the River Trent. He received his schooling locally and was apprenticed to Mr G. Bailey, a draper of Bawtry. That trade would shape the rest of his life.
Like many young men of his generation, George was drawn to the promise of opportunity overseas. In 1852, shortly after completing his apprenticeship, he sailed for Australia to join the rush to the gold diggings. At that time the major Victorian fields attracting thousands of new arrivals were Ballarat, Bendigo (then Sandhurst), Castlemaine, Mount Alexander, Forest Creek, and Clunes. George likely worked among these bustling diggings, but he also applied his skills and discipline. Before long he had saved enough to invest in a drapery business in Melbourne, a venture that prospered and allowed him to live comfortably for nearly nine years.
He returned to England in 1861 for a family visit and discovered that several of his brothers were contemplating emigration. George promised to return to the colonies, assess the opportunities, and write home with advice. By then he had developed a strong interest in New Zealand’s prospects. In October 1863, he sailed again, travelling on the Alice Thorndike via Panama, British Columbia, and San Francisco, and landed at Port Chalmers before making his way to Christchurch. A month’s stay convinced him that New Zealand held stronger long-term promise than Australia.
By 1864, George had settled in Timaru, then emerging as a service town for the surrounding pastoral stations. He worked first for Christchurch drapers D. Clare and Mr Pratt, and by 1869 he had been appointed manager of Mr Clarkson’s drapery in Timaru.
Given that George was resident in Timaru from 1864 onward, it is possible he worked in or around Clarkson’s drapery prior to the 1868 fire and rebuild, although I haven't found any evidence that confirms this.
It is important to note, that in Dec 1868 a devastating fire destroyed 39 wooden buildings in the commercial center of Timaru. This was three quarters of the town. Clarkson & Turnbull's store was destroyed in this fire. Clarkson & Turnbull traded together before the 1878 “Corner Store” fire. The corner store was rebuilt in mostly blue stone - a local volcanic rock also known as basalt. So the store that George managed in 1869 was the second building to be built on the Stafford and George Street corner.
When his brothers and cousin arrived in New Zealand, George purchased the business, establishing Gabites Brothers (late D. Clarkson) with his brother Robert as partner until 1876. This marked the beginning of the long-running Gabites drapery and menswear store, which would become a fixture on Stafford Street for well over a century.
George married Ellen Ann Duggan in 1865, and the couple made their home at the corner of George and Barnard Streets. That house later became the home of his son, Dr George Edward Gabites, and remained central to the family’s presence in the neighbourhood for decades.
George was more than a businessman. He served on the Timaru Borough Council, particularly during the period when the early waterworks scheme was being developed. He also took part in local volunteer forces, including the Sixth Christchurch Rifles, the South Canterbury Reserve Corps Mounted, and the Port Guards. His civic reliability made him a well-respected figure in town.
In 1878, George purchased 244 acres at Kingsdown (Lot 9) from the Rhodes brothers of Levels Station. It was a typical settler investment in productive farmland — but it would later take on unexpected notoriety.
Fun fact: Years later, George’s Kingsdown land was arranged into a sale by Richard Gabites to Thomas Hall, the son-in-law of Captain Henry Cain. In 1886, Hall became the central figure in one of New Zealand’s most sensational court cases, tried for the alleged poisoning of Captain Cain and the attempted murder of his wife, Kate Hall (née Cain).
Through this entirely indirect connection, the Gabites family’s farmland brushed up against one of Timaru’s most infamous scandals.
As the years went on, George continued to shape the streets of central Timaru. Around 1903–1904, he signed over his George Street property portfolio to his son, Dr George Edward Gabites, as a wedding gift, with a clear understanding between father and son about how parts of the land were to be used. In 1904, Dr George sold a portion to the Borough Council for £1,150, a sale widely understood to have enabled the construction of the Timaru Public Library, and, later, the development of the Council Offices.
In this way, George Senior’s private generosity helped define the civic heart of the town he had served for so long.
George lived to the age of eighty-six, passing away in 1914. His obituary described him as “one of Nature’s gentlemen… esteemed and respected by all.” Flags were lowered across the town in his honour. He left behind a well-established business, a respected family, and a lasting imprint on the physical and civic landscape of Timaru.
His legacy laid the foundation for the next generations of the Gabites family — including his distinguished son, Dr George Edward Gabites, and his nephew, Arthur Norman Gabites, who carried the family business well into the twentieth century.
Arthur Norman Gabites (1877–1949)
The man who steadied the family business and carried the Gabites name into a new century
Arthur Norman Gabites was born in 1877, the son of Arthur Gabites and Margaret Fletcher, and the grandson of the original Gabites brothers who helped root the family name in South Canterbury. By the time Arthur Norman reached adulthood, the family’s presence in Timaru and Temuka was long established. The first generation had built the foundations; the next would have to carry it forward.
He grew up in a period when Timaru was expanding rapidly. Railways had arrived, the port was changing, and Stafford Street was developing into the commercial heart of town. The Gabites menswear and drapery business had become part of that landscape, known for its steady trade and familiar counter-side service.
In 1903 Arthur Norman married Emily Constance Ray, whose family connections were woven into the same network of early South Canterbury settlers. Together they raised six children — Gordon, Norma, Dora, Alan, Jack, and Nancy — a lively household with deep links to the growing town around them.
Arthur Norman’s working life was shaped by responsibility. The family business had weathered earlier challenges, including the difficult years surrounding his own father’s death and the financial strain of the wider economy. At one point the Gabites shop closed temporarily. But Arthur Norman reopened it, stabilised it, and set it on a firm footing once again. It was his practical determination that carried the business safely through the early twentieth century, through wartime shortages, and into the years when men’s clothing retail began to modernise.
Under his leadership, Gabites’ store became a familiar Stafford Street landmark — known for its service, its range, and its sense of continuity. Customers could outfit themselves for work, Sunday best, or special occasions; young men bought their first suits there; fathers returned year after year for reliable wear. In a town built on farming, industry, and trade, a good menswear shop mattered.
The Gabites Who Followed: How a Family Rooted Itself in Timaru
When George Gabites Senior put down roots in Timaru in the 1860s, he became the first of the brothers to settle in South Canterbury. But he did not remain the only one for long. Over the next two decades more members of the family made the long journey from England, forming a small but steady family cluster that helped shape Timaru’s early commercial life.
The Brothers Who Came After George Senior
Arthur Gabites (brother of George Senior)
Arthur followed George to New Zealand, arriving after an exceptionally fast voyage aboard the Merope. By the time George travelled from Timaru to Christchurch expecting to greet their ship, Arthur and his companions had already landed and were waiting at the Lyttelton Hotel.
Arthur settled first in Temuka, where he ran a branch of the family’s growing menswear and drapery business. He married Margaret Bragg in 1875 at St Saviour’s Church, Temuka. The couple raised their family there before Arthur eventually purchased his brother George’s business interests around 1890, taking over the Timaru store.
He managed the business until his death in 1898, after which his son — Arthur Norman Gabites — would step into the role. Through Arthur’s steady work in both Temuka and Timaru, the family’s commercial footprint widened across South Canterbury.
Robert Gabites (another brother)
Robert also emigrated, arriving in New Zealand with Arthur and cousin Fletcher. He entered into business with George Senior as Gabites Brothers, helping to expand the Stafford Street drapery and tailoring operation. Their partnership continued until 1876. Robert later married and established a large family, many of whom feature in the genealogical pages you provided.
His descendants — including Constance, Eleanor, Edmond, Albert, and their children — spread throughout New Zealand across the twentieth century, carrying the name into industries ranging from engineering to retail to wartime service.
Cousin Fletcher Gabites
Travelling with Arthur and Robert, Fletcher represents the wider family migration that began once George Senior declared Timaru a promising place for settlement. While Fletcher did not play a major role in the business, his arrival marked the beginning of a multi-branch Gabites presence in the region.
The Next Generation: The Children of George Senior
George Senior and his wife Ellen raised their family at the corner of George and Barnard Streets — a home that became an anchor point for the next two generations.
Their elder surviving son: Dr George Edward Gabites
His story you already have — the scholar, surgeon, military medical officer, and respected Timaru doctor whose life bridged local service and international experience. He remained in Timaru for most of his adult life, even returning to the family home after years abroad.
Their younger son: Frederick Charles Gabites
Frederick, born in 1875, appears in the family lineage as another continuation of the line in Timaru. While you have not provided biographical notes for him, his presence in the family tree helps anchor the Gabites name in the region.
The early death of their firstborn daughter, Eleanor Marion, in Christchurch in 1866, and the death of their toddler son William Lancelot in Timaru in 1873, reflects the fragility of life for early settlers. These losses shaped the household into which Dr George later returned.
Arthur Norman Gabites: The Grandson Who Carried the Business Forward
The strongest continuation of the Gabites presence in Timaru came through Arthur Norman, the son of Arthur and Margaret (and nephew of George Senior).
Arthur Norman:
- restarted the business after his father’s death
- rebuilt it through difficult decades
- oversaw its development into a Stafford Street fixture
- passed it on to his sons, Alan Ernest and John “Jack” Gabites
His work ensured the Gabites name remained above a Timaru shopfront for 110 years, until the store’s closure in 1988.
Arthur Norman’s children grew up in Timaru, attended local schools, and raised families of their own. The Gabites name became part of local memory — not dramatic or famous, but the kind of reliable, steady presence that shapes a town’s character over time.
A Family That Became Part of the Town
What began with George Senior — a draper with a useful trade — soon included: brothers, cousins, their children and grandchildren, and eventually great-grandchildren, across Temuka, Timaru, Oamaru, Christchurch, and later Auckland. Some became shopkeepers. Some engineers. Some served in wars. Some raised families in the same streets their grandparents had walked. Others moved further afield, taking the Gabites name with them.
But it was Timaru that gave the family its strongest roots.
Their homes sat at the corner of George and Barnard Streets.
Their shop stood proudly on Stafford Street.
Their sons sat on school boards, served in churches, and walked the same streets to work.
Their daughters married into other local families, quietly stitching the Gabites name into the fabric of South Canterbury.
Dr George Edward Gabites (1867–1926)
Scholar, surgeon, military medical officer, and one of Timaru’s quiet achievers
Dr George Edward Gabites was born in Christchurch in 1867, but his roots were firmly Timaru ones. He belonged to the second New Zealand–born generation of the Gabites family, whose presence in South Canterbury was already well established through his father’s drapery business and the family home on the corner of George and Barnard Streets. George attended Timaru Boys’ High School, where he received the grounding that eventually carried him across the world.
Like many ambitious young New Zealanders of the late nineteenth century, he headed to Britain to complete his professional training. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, earning his Bachelor of Science in 1889, followed by his medical degree in 1893. His postgraduate years were equally distinguished. He held positions at the Royal Infirmary and the Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial Hospital, and by 1896 he had risen to become medical superintendent of the Edinburgh Provident Dispensary — a notable achievement for a young colonial doctor.
George returned home in 1899 to take up the role of surgeon superintendent at Timaru Hospital, bringing with him the breadth of knowledge, discipline, and professionalism that Edinburgh was known for. Rather than setting up his own household immediately, he returned to his family home on George Street, where his father — George Gabites Senior, the Timaru draper, shopkeeper, councillor, and community man — still lived. Father and son both served on the Vestry of St Mary’s, anchoring the family’s long-standing ties with the parish and the neighbourhood.
In 1903, George married Mary McLachlan. Around this time he sold part of his George Street property to the Borough Council for £1,150. Family recollections suggest this sale may have helped enable the construction of the Public Library and later the Council Buildings on that site. Not long afterwards, he established his private medical practice at 9 Elizabeth Street. His father is said to have gifted him the family’s property portfolio as a wedding endowment, with a clear understanding of how portions of it were to be used. George Senior and his wife continued to live in the family home with George and Mary until their deaths.
Dr George’s medical career stretched far beyond Timaru. He served in the South African War (1901–1902), returning with the Queen’s Medal and four clasps. He was a strong advocate for ambulance work and played a crucial role in the formation of the Railway Ambulance. He then helped establish the St John Ambulance Brigade in South Canterbury. When the corps finally grew large enough, he became its first superintendent, and was later invested by the Earl of Liverpool as an Associate of the Order of St John — a quiet but meaningful honour.
During the First World War, Dr George commanded the New Zealand Medical Corps training camp at Avonside from 1917 to 1919. Afterwards he served as Assistant Director of Medical Services for the Otago Military District. His wartime contributions were recognised with his appointment as a Companion of the British Empire (C.B.E.), and he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve.
At home, he served on the Timaru High School Board, supported local health initiatives, and was known for treating patients who could not afford to pay. Those who worked with him remembered a hard-working, modest man who simply got on with what needed doing — the kind of doctor whose reliability becomes a quiet backbone in a community.
Dr George Edward Gabites died suddenly on 6 January 1926, having worked the day before. Timaru responded in the way smaller cities do when they lose someone who mattered. Flags were lowered at shop fronts and at Timaru Boys’ High School, where he had once been both a pupil and a board member. His funeral was well attended, and his loss was felt widely.
Behind the landmark now known as Gabites Corner, behind the early ambulance services of South Canterbury, and behind the medical practice once standing on Elizabeth Street, stands the legacy of a doctor who served his town, his country, and his profession with dedication — a man who helped shape the health and character of early twentieth-century Timaru.
Arthur Norman lived through enormous change: the motorcar, electricity, world wars, and the slow but steady transformation of Timaru. Yet the store remained essentially what it had always been — local, dependable, and grounded in a family name people knew.
When Arthur Norman died in 1949, he left behind more than a shop. He left a business that had become part of Timaru’s streetscape and identity. Two of his sons, Alan Ernest Gabites and John Eric “Jack” Gabites, would continue the enterprise after him. Jack and his wife Jean ran the shop into its later decades, guiding it until its final closure in 1988 — an extraordinary 110-year family presence on Stafford Street.
Arthur Norman was not the first Gabites to work behind a counter, but he was the one who ensured the business survived, adapted, and passed cleanly into the hands of the next generation. In many ways he was the quiet bridge between the early settler years and modern Timaru — the man who kept the doors open and the name above them.
Possibly about 1896 to 1899 "The town of Timaru is about 100 miles from Christchurch, and 128 from Dunedin, and is the principal town of South Canterbury. Among its fine buildings and institutions, there is not one of which the citizens are more proud than its Hospital, the subject of our illustration, and for convenience and good management, it can hold its own with any in the colony. It speaks well for a young colony, when the alleviation of the physical sufferings of its inhabitants is one of the first things to be provided.”
Christchurch City Libraries - The imperial album of New Zealand scenery, page 238 https://www.canterburystories.nz/collections/publications/imperialalbum/ccl-cs-39434 No known copyright
Dr George Gabites Grave Timaru Cemetery - Photo Roselyn Fauth