The Legacy of the Plimmer Family lives on
John Plimmer, the father of Wellington whose image is preserved with that of his dog Fritz in Plimmer Lane spawned a range of other Plimmers, and celebrated author Bee Dawson has written a book about one branch of the family and is getting ready to do another.
She came to the club this week to talk about the Rangitikei Plimmers who hired her to prepare a family history about their side of the family and the agri-business that they have built.
Bee said that one of the standout heroes of the Plimmer clan was Clifford Ulrich Plimmer, (unsurprisingly known as CUP) who started as a stock and station agent, rose to head Wright Stephenson’s and merged it with various businesses to create Challenge Corporation which then morphed into Fletcher Challenge, in its day a giant firm by New Zealand standards.
Cliff Plimmer, she said, was hard working and clean living, “a workaholic who loved people, and built a business empire, but was a poor father.”
The book has many stories, including a touch of scandal in the form of a bigamous marriage about a hundred years ago. Bee said that the Plimmers didn’t generally regard themselves as nice people, so that their various spouses over the years shared the description of “improvers.”
Her book is lavishly illustrated with family photos and other farm shots by Wellington photographer Chris Coad.
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