Mr Peter Pringle Scott Finlayson: (b 1880 - d 1941)
Mr Scott Finlayson was elected a Councillor shortly after coming to Patea and then when Mr Holtham’s premature death caused a by-election in January, 1924, he was installed as mayor after defeating Mr Larcombe. He held this position for six years but decided not to stand again in 1929 in order to devote more time to family and business. During his time as mayor he took particular interest in the town electricity supply and was instrumental in the installation, in 1926, of the Ruston Crompton generating plant housed in York Street.
Mr Finlayson was the son of a Presbyterian Minister and was born at Waitati near Dunedin. He was a junior and senior Provincial Scholar at Otago Boys‘ High School and then he obtained an N.Z. Certificate of Education at Otago University in 1900. His ambition had been to go in for a scientific or engineering career and his brother had qualified in geology and was the first New Zealander to gain a D.Sc. in London University.
Scott however was pushed in the direction of school teaching and after provisionally qualifying pending his 21st. birthday he took up his first post at Huiakama.
(Coincidentally this was the same small settlement to which the Finnerty family had moved a few years earlier and Charles Finnerty‘s daughter Lilla became a pupil teacher there in Finlayson’s school in 1901.)
Scott was living in Strathmore at this time and there met and married Mary Catherine Calbert who was born in Carlyle (Patea).
Mary‘s father was Captain George Calvert who, then a storekeeper in Strathmore, had in earlier years been a captain of the Schooner "Agnes" owned by John Milroy at Patea.
In 1903 after their marriage the Finlaysons moved to Weber near Dannevirke then to Mount Cook School for Boys, Wellington, and in 1904 he took up an appointment in the Chatham Islands.
This involved more than just school teaching and included in particular being the local dispenser of medicines and first aid between the doctor's monthly visits. Scott disliked school-teaching and gave it up after two years there.
For several years Scott had studied with the “American School of Correspondence" based in Massachusetts and succeeded in obtaining their “Diploma of Electrical Engineering" but unfortunately never succeeded in getting into any career on these lines.
Instead after leaving teaching he set up in a “small goods” business in Devonport in 1906 and did well enough to build a home at Avondale in 1910 and settle there with his wife and his eldest daughter.
During the war while awaiting call-up he worked as a stevadore but the war finished before he had to join up. In 1920 they moved to Patea where he bought the Masonic Hotel. The family ran the hotel for 14 years and his daughters grew up in Patea.
During this time apart from his public offices he took a great interest in music, playing the piano and trombone well. He was able to teach other instruments to members of the Patea Municipal Band and was Bandmaster. He was also in the Licensed Victuallers‘ Society and the Druids‘ Lodge.
He joined Freemasons in 1918 while in Auckland but resigned from it after his retirement. While she was Mayoress Mrs Finlayson started the Girl Guides branch in Patea in 1927 and was its president for the first three years.
It was in 1934 that they decided to retire from business and move to Stratford. Scott was only 54 and had somewhat indifferent health but enjoyed a number of year's retirement finally being able to put his electrical engineering into practice by helping out at the Stratford Power Station during the 1940s war years.
Mr Scott Finlayson was elected a Councillor shortly after coming to Patea and then when Mr Holtham’s premature death caused a by-election in January, 1924, he was installed as mayor after defeating Mr Larcombe. He held this position for six years but decided not to stand again in 1929 in order to devote more time to family and business. During his time as mayor he took particular interest in the town electricity supply and was instrumental in the installation, in 1926, of the Ruston Crompton generating plant housed in York Street.
Mr Finlayson was the son of a Presbyterian Minister and was born at Waitati near Dunedin. He was a junior and senior Provincial Scholar at Otago Boys‘ High School and then he obtained an N.Z. Certificate of Education at Otago University in 1900. His ambition had been to go in for a scientific or engineering career and his brother had qualified in geology and was the first New Zealander to gain a D.Sc. in London University.
Scott however was pushed in the direction of school teaching and after provisionally qualifying pending his 21st. birthday he took up his first post at Huiakama.
(Coincidentally this was the same small settlement to which the Finnerty family had moved a few years earlier and Charles Finnerty‘s daughter Lilla became a pupil teacher there in Finlayson’s school in 1901.)
Scott was living in Strathmore at this time and there met and married Mary Catherine Calbert who was born in Carlyle (Patea).
Mary‘s father was Captain George Calvert who, then a storekeeper in Strathmore, had in earlier years been a captain of the Schooner "Agnes" owned by John Milroy at Patea.
In 1903 after their marriage the Finlaysons moved to Weber near Dannevirke then to Mount Cook School for Boys, Wellington, and in 1904 he took up an appointment in the Chatham Islands.
This involved more than just school teaching and included in particular being the local dispenser of medicines and first aid between the doctor's monthly visits. Scott disliked school-teaching and gave it up after two years there.
For several years Scott had studied with the “American School of Correspondence" based in Massachusetts and succeeded in obtaining their “Diploma of Electrical Engineering" but unfortunately never succeeded in getting into any career on these lines.
Instead after leaving teaching he set up in a “small goods” business in Devonport in 1906 and did well enough to build a home at Avondale in 1910 and settle there with his wife and his eldest daughter.
During the war while awaiting call-up he worked as a stevadore but the war finished before he had to join up. In 1920 they moved to Patea where he bought the Masonic Hotel. The family ran the hotel for 14 years and his daughters grew up in Patea.
During this time apart from his public offices he took a great interest in music, playing the piano and trombone well. He was able to teach other instruments to members of the Patea Municipal Band and was Bandmaster. He was also in the Licensed Victuallers‘ Society and the Druids‘ Lodge.
He joined Freemasons in 1918 while in Auckland but resigned from it after his retirement. While she was Mayoress Mrs Finlayson started the Girl Guides branch in Patea in 1927 and was its president for the first three years.
It was in 1934 that they decided to retire from business and move to Stratford. Scott was only 54 and had somewhat indifferent health but enjoyed a number of year's retirement finally being able to put his electrical engineering into practice by helping out at the Stratford Power Station during the 1940s war years.
