Lewis Alfred Eady (12 May 1891 – 21 April 1965) was a New Zealand music retailer, company director and benefactor.

Early life

Eady was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, on 12 May 1891. After leaving school in 1906, he worked for his father, Lewis Roberts Eady, a musician who tuned pianos and traded in second-hand instruments. When the firm moved from

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the Auckland CBD, central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flig ...

to Queen Street shortly after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Eady became managing director. On 17 February 1917 at

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Z ...

, Auckland, Eady married Agnes Amelia Adams, a teacher.

Councillor

Between 1925 and 1929, Eady was on the Auckland City Council. He was enthusiastic about libraries, and in 1926 he presented

Auckland Public Library Auckland Council Libraries, usually simplified to Auckland Libraries, is the public library system for the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It was created when the seven separate councils in the Auckland region merged in 2010. It is currently the ...

with a collection of over 600 volumes of music and music literature. He continued to donate until a substantial collection of music material was established. In the 1956 New Year Honours, Eady was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to the community in Auckland, especially as a city councillor.

Business owner

In 1928, the firm, now Lewis Eady Limited, moved to a seven-storey building on Queen Street that had a concert chamber, soundproofed audition rooms, and studios and professional chambers for music teachers. In 1930, the firm established its own radio station, 1ZR, in the Queen Street premises. Pioneer broadcasters included Aunt Daisy, Dudley Wrathall and Rod Talbot. A "radio church", the 'Friendly Road', was run by 'Uncle Tom' Garland and the Reverend Colin Scrimgeour.

Other activities

In 1932, Eady established the first Junior Chamber of Commerce ('Jaycees') in the southern hemisphere, and during the 1940s took leading roles in the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

of Auckland. He was also active in the

Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Later life

Eady died at

Remuera Remuera is an affluent suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian era, Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy ...

on 21 April 1965, survived by his wife, son and daughter.

References

1891 births 1965 deaths New Zealand philanthropists Businesspeople from Auckland New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople 20th-century New Zealand musicians Auckland City Councillors 20th-century New Zealand philanthropists {{NewZealand-musician-stub