Oliver Clayton
Clayton’s Avenue
Oliver Witton Clayton was born in Guiseley, Yorkshire in 1846. He had two older brothers: Arthur and Benjamin. By 1861, the widowed father and sons were all working as weavers. Oliver moved to London and took up work as a painter. He then married Catherine Tovey in 1870 at Teddington. The couple emigrated in 1873 on the ship ‘Halcione’. They chose Wellington to be their new home and remained here the rest of their lives. Oliver’s brother, Benjamin and his wife Annie, followed in 1878. Neither couple had any children.
Oliver became well known for his dealings in land and was a successful speculator in Wellington. The lease of Town Acre No. 123 was put up for sale in August 1880 with 42 years remaining on the lease. Presumably Oliver purchased it and began developing houses on it. It became known as ‘Clayton’s Avenue’. The Avenue was a Right of Way running north from Abel Smith Street, west of the Cuba Street intersection.
Detail of Town Acre No. 123 (bottom right) from Thomas Ward Map, sheet 37 courtesy of Wellington City Council Archives, 00514-37
From this 1883 photo, we can see a group of three young photographers posing in the Avenue. They are Thomas H Wyatt, Alexander Barrington Keyworth and William Williams. The men also had digs at a similar time at ‘The Old Shebang’ in Cuba Street https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22908361?search%5Bi%5D%5Bsubject_authority_id%5D=-343446&search%5Bpath%5D=items.
Cottages in Clayton's Avenue, Wellington, and men alongside, circa 1883, photographed by William Williams. From left to right: Thomas H Wyatt, Alexander Barrington Keyworth and William Williams.
Williams, Edgar Richard, 1891-1983: Photographs and papers. Ref: 1/1-025545-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22350628
By 1893, there were eleven dwellings on Town Acre No. 123. They were mostly built in a similar style being single storey with a front verandah and 4 or 5 rooms. According to the 1893 Street Directory, in the residents of Clayton’s Avenue were William H Smith, George E Smith, Alfred Burns, James C Windsor (accountant), Marco Fossella (clothing manufacturer) and his wife Octavia. In 1894, the residents were Charles Thompson, Alexander Muir (salesman), Alfred Burns (butcher), John Greggory and Marco Fossella. See the Friends of Karori Cemetery for the story of Marco: https://friendsofkaroricemetery.co.nz/marco-fosella/
Cottage in Clayton's Avenue, Wellington, and men alongside, circa 1883, photographed by William Williams. From left to right: Alexander Barrington Keyworth, William Williams, and Thomas H Wyatt.
Williams, Edgar Richard, 1891-1983: Photographs and papers. Ref: 1/1-025549-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23191400
Detail. Williams, Edgar Richard, 1891-1983: Photographs and papers. Ref: 1/1-025549-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23191400
Detail. Williams, Edgar Richard, 1891-1983: Photographs and papers. Ref: 1/1-025549-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23191400
In 1908, Oliver put nine of the houses located on the site up for sale, stating the rents were £450 yearly. He kept the largest house for himself. The properties were sold to David Laird. In 1916, Richard James Webster was charged with keeping a brothel in Clayton Avenue. He was convicted and fined £10 with costs.
Oliver died at his residence, 78 Abel Smith Street on 21 July 1929. This would have been the house adjoining Clayton Avenue. By 1938 most of the houses had gone and the rear of the site was rebuilt for industrial use. Clayton’s Avenue no longer exists. It is part of the present day 84 Abel Smith Street site.
At his death, Oliver left one third of his estate to his wife, one third to his nephews Frank and Harry Clayton and one third to his nieces in England. His estate was worth £11,647. After his death, Catherine’s health improved and her interest in business affairs steadily grew. Her lawyer thought that she had been under the domination to a very large extent by her husband and she was being well cared for by her new housekeeper. Catherine died on 19 September 1929, aged 81.
Catherine wrote two wills after the death of her husband. The beneficiaries to the first were cut out of the second and disputed the will later in court. They were not successful. Her estate was worth £4870. None of the parties who benefitted from either Oliver or Catherine’s estates organised a headstone for the couple, and they lie in an unmarked grave at Karori Cemetery. This may have been as they wished, nothing was stipulated in their wills.
Karori Cemetery Plot: *Ch Eng 2/J/408
Clayton Plot at Karori Cemetery, courtesy of FindaGrave.
Clayton's Avenue, Wellington, photographed circa 1883 by William Williams. Includes a row of cottages and picket fences
Williams, Edgar Richard, 1891-1983: Photographs and papers. Ref: 1/1-025549-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23191400