Graeme Edwards, an Auckland businessman who died this month.
One of the former owners of Alloy Yachts and one of a group who founded national discount retailer Dress Smart died this month.
Graeme Marten Edwards, 89, of Parnell passed away on February 19. His funeral is at St Mary’s-in-Holy Trinity in Parnell at 1pm tomorrow.
Edwards was born in 1934. Friends recalled how he overcame major health issues as a youngster, having drunk unpasteurised milk collected from a farmer in the Howick area. He contracted tuberculosis so was hospitalised, they recalled.
It was not until the 1940s when the Americans arrived in New Zealand during World War II and his father became friends with an army doctor that Edwards was given penicillin.
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At the age of 14, he was able to go to Auckland Grammar but he had spent years in bed reading, so one friend said it was a shock to the teachers how much he already knew.
Once he left school, he studied pharmacy, bought a chemist’s shop, then other properties to eventually form developer Argyle Estates which built suburban bank offices, medical centres and food outlets.
In the 1960s, Edwards and wife Barbara established Auckland’s Sheraton House furniture store at a time, friends recalled, when most furniture in the city was bland.
Edwards also bought a chain of motels throughout New Zealand, including Māngere’s Airport Inn.
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In the 1980s, he became chairman of Argus Corporation, then listed on the stock exchange. At one point, Argus owned Rainbow’s End and Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium. Edwards made millions from property but lost most of it in the stock market crash of 1987, then rebuilt his business.
In 1995, Edwards’ wife Barbara died. He later married Di Le Cren in 2012.
In the 1990s, he worked closely with business associate Nigel Powell.
As well as being in the group of founders of Dress Smart with John Bougen and others, Argyle Estates built 10 medical centres, five retail centres, a hospital in Fiji and a number of other commercial developments.
The two men were also founding directors of Auckland Memorial Park.
In 2008, the Herald reported how Edwards and Powell turned their attention to a suburban Auckland development.
Argyle built a shopping centre at Greenhithe but that article also said it had designed and built many properties in the past 16 years.
Powell is managing director what is today called Argyle Property Group.
It was with business associate Gary Lane that Edwards got involved in Alloy Yachts. They bought it from the receiver and during about 25 years, Alloy built around 50 superyachts.
Edwards was also chairman of Lane’s food business Healtheries for 10 years.
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He is a former director of Oyster Property Group and Oyster Management and of Opera New Zealand.
He is survived by Di, his son Jonathan, niece Lucy and granddaughter Nicola.
