KUPU POROPOROAKI/OBITUARY I Ōtaki Today, Noema/November 2019
whika/page 9
David Pritchard – hard working, entrepreneurial David Kennedy Pritchard 22.04.1947 – 02.11.2019
David Pritchard was farewelled at Southwards in Paraparaumu on November 7 at a big funeral where mourners spilled into the foyer. It was a sign of his huge respect among business people, workers, colleagues and friends. David was born in Ōtaki to David and Lorna. He was the oldest of four children, followed by Stuart, Pam and Nigel. Their mum was a florist and their dad a nurseryman growing orchids, tomatoes and seedlings for local market gardeners. David junior attended Ōtaki School and went to Ōtaki College in 1959 as a foundation student. He was not much of a scholar but used to say he excelled at commercial studies. On a visit to a university on a college trip to Australia in 1962, one of his teachers said: “Pritchard, take a good look because this is the closest you’ll ever get to a university.” David thought, “I’ll show him, I’m going to be a millionaire one day.” He left school aged 15 and went to work on the Bothamly dairy farm in Te Horo before heading to Putaruru to work on his Uncle Cliff ’s dairy farm. However, after Cliff died in a traffic accident, David returned to Ōtaki and worked for Goodmans driving scrapers and dozers all over the Wellington region. It’s how he developed a love for machinery. In 1966 David senior suggested David and Stuart lease a dairy block off the main road north of Ōtaki. They started with 80 cows which was all they could afford, but soon diversified their business by buying a brand new tractor and hay bailer, and contracting for local farmers. They worked hard, paid off the machinery quickly and bought out the opposition, having
12 tractors on the go at the peak when David was only 20. Their first big break was when they bought the Jenkins farm on Addington Road in 1970 – David was 24 and Stuart 22. They couldn’t have done it without their mum and dad selling their florist and market garden business, their house in Ōtaki and their grandparents’ beach house at Te Horo to help with the deposit. Their first mortgage was at 18 percent. In 1972 they completed their first subdivision, four hectares that helped with the purchase of a second farm in Shannon where they cropped barley and grew spuds. They also doubled the size of their chicken broiler sheds at Addington Road, increasing production to 30,000 chickens every three months. Sadly, Lorna died in 1973 aged just 53. She passed on her generosity and hard-working traits to the family. In 1975, the Pritchard boys secured 250ha of freehold land and 100ha of leasehold land at Forest Lakes. They funded the purchase by subdividing and selling the Shannon farm, and the chicken sheds and house at Addington Road. Meantime, David met Jacqui Orbell and they married in 1976. During the 1970s, Pritchard Bros bought farms, added value, subdivided and sold. The brothers were hard working, innovative in their approach and entrepreneurial. In the 1980s, they continued with dairying, milking 700 cows, farm contracting and further
diversification into horticulture. Business boomed in horticulture. More land was bought, fruit planted and companies syndicated. Willow Park Gardens and then the Willow Park Group were formed, including the construction of a packing shed able to process 400,000 trays of kiwifruit and 250,000 trays of apples and pears a season. The group grew to 120 fulltime staff and 700 seasonal staff. The property empire grew on the back of this growth. Meantime, after the birth of Sam in 1979, David and Jacqui produced John, Sophie and Alice in the 1980s. The sharemarket crash of 1987 brought the Pritchard brothers down to earth. However, believing that when one door closes, another opens, they emerged with small local land developments. They bought the Lindale farm in a partnership that created 147 lots over a 20year period. Then in 1996, David broke his neck in a fall
from a flying fox in Rotorua, Three weeks in hospital gave him time to refocus, deciding to prioritise the land development business. He built a staff of 40 who could take a land development project from conception to completion. This included a construction arm. Sections were developed throughout the country. In 2003 David was nominated for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and won the property/ construction category. One newspaper reported that Pritchard Group owned $100 million worth of residential developments. He also took on many significant trust and company directorships. Then in 2008, aged 61, he had three months in Wellington Hospital after a massive infection. He became a tetraplegic and spent a further 10 months at the Burwood spinal unit. This was no easy adjustment for an action man, but he set the goal of getting back home to Forest Lakes, which he did. David always had a genuine interest in people. He was a good communicator and generous with his time and hospitality. In 2009, he was inducted into the Kāpiti Horowhenua Business Hall of Fame and in 2018 he was one of two inaugural inductees into the XŌtaki College Alumni Hall of Fame. Family, business and positivity were key principles for David. His honesty, generosity, work ethic, interest in others and strong sense of humour were key traits. – From a eulogy by Sam Pritchard
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