George Dabinett Ayson, 1888 - 1971
George Dabinett Ayson - father of Graeme Dabinett Ayson.
Obituary
Evening Post, 13 April 1971,
Mr G D Ayson
The death occurred recently of Mr G D Ayson of Johnsonville – a Justice of the Peace and a retired quantity surveyor noted for his widespread interests.
In 1957 Mr Ayson was elected president of the Wellington Beekeepers’ Association for a 12th term and in 1959 he stood as an independent candidate for the Wellington City Council in the municipal elections.
His interests in local affairs was keen and he tried again for council in 1962.
“I want to straighten out our transport mess and introduce modern trams,” he declared at the time.
Mr Ayson was also interested in introducing modern digesters to dispose of city waste and sewerage.
Mr Ayson’s career as an architect and registered quantity surveyor included a period with the Maori Housing Department. He also served on the Justices’ Council and school committees.
His main sporting interests were rugby and tennis.
Clan Ayson NZ Society would like to acknowledge and thank Geoff Mew and Adrian Humphris for their permission to reproduce the following section from their book, (p 157 – 158).
‘Raupo to Deco,’ Wellington Styles and Architects 1840 – 1940.
George Dabinett Ayson was born in Masterton in 1888.
He was one of six sons of Lake Falconer Ayson, at that time curator of the Masterson Fish Hatchery and later to become Chief Inspector of Fisheries.
His mother was Alice Ayson, née Dabinett.
George attended Masterton Central School. He became a carpenter and joiner working in Lower Hutt around 1911. He developed his interest in architecture from there and first listed as an architect from a Queen Street Masterton address in Stone’s Directory about 1914. Despite that, he appears to have actually started his architectural career in Wellington with the design of the house at 12 Governor Road in 1912.
Other work was in the Wairarapa district, as several of the early tenders noted are for buildings there. These included Masterton’s second fish hatchery and residence in Pownall Street in 1913, and a residence in camerated concrete in 1914. He designed relatively few houses during the years of the Great War, all built by B Eastham and almost certainly spec houses.
By 1921, George was District Manager of the International Correspondence School and was living in Kilbirnie with his wife Olive.
He had married Olive Graham Mackay in Masterton in 1912 when he apparently started to diversify his business interests.
Wise’s Directories list his occupation as 'Salesman' from 1924 to 1926, then as 'Architect’ living in Falkirk Avenue Seatoun.
However he designed at least 16 houses in that earlier period. From the early 1920s, George designed a large number of houses – over 80 in total – his last recorded Wellington permanent application for this period was in 1930 and then he disappears from the directory completely for over 10 years from 1933.
Electoral roles do offer clues to his changing circumstances. In 1935 he was registered as a sales manager in Christchurch with an address in Hereford Street, but by 1938 he was listing as a fisheries expert in Kaikoura. Then there is a break until 1946 when he is shown back in Falkirk Avenue Seatoun - this time as a surveyor.
He continued at the Seatoun address until the mid-1950s when the address changed to 55 Ironside Road, Johnsonville. His permit applications started again from 1944 and went through to 1960, but at a much reduced rate. Although still dominated by house designs, they included a factory and some shops. The total number of designs that we know about throughout his career is nearly one hundred.
The 1930s were obviously a difficult time for his family, as he and Olive were divorced in 1939. George then left the Wellington region, and Olive was living alone in Lower Hutt in 1943. At some stage after 1938 he must have retrained as a quantity surveyor, as that is how he was described in his obituary. His obituary mentions that he worked for a time on Maori housing, but exactly when and where this was has proved difficult to establish, as he does not appear on permanent staff list. He became a Justice of the Peace in his later years. George died in Wellington Hospital in 1971, having spent some of his last years living in Waikanae.
George had remarried in 1940, his second wife being Alma Grace Mabel Davies. He was a noted beekeeper for many years and had been president of the Wellington Beekeepers’ Association for twelve terms. He was interested in rugby and tennis, as well as local body affairs. In both 1959 and 1962, he stood as an independent candidate for the Wellington City Council, but was unsuccessful in the elections. In the early 1920s he was hon. secretary of the Wellington Men’s Ambulance Brigade and assisted at several serious (and newsworthy) accidents. An article on him and the New Zealand Truth in 1926 was headed ‘Genial George’ and painted him as a busy, cheerful character who ‘… draws his bread and butter as a People’s architect.’ It went on to relate how he had survived a motor accident in the Wairarapa a few years previously and pointed out that he was an active Lodge member. A further reference to him in the same year stated; ‘George is a versatile citizen with a happy knack of always getting there in anything he touches.’
He retired to Waikanae about 1963 and was still listed on the electoral roll there in 1969.
A complex character, he is remembered by his descendants for a somewhat turbulent life and for being forgetful in his later years. He took an interest in the arts and numbered several artists among his friends.
References:
‘Assistance at accident’. Evening Post. 1 April 1921, p7.
‘Ay,Ay.Son’, New Zealand Truth. 11 November 1926, p6.
‘Genial George’ New Zealand Truth, 6 May 1926, p6.
‘Obituary’, Evening Post, 13 April 1971, p5.
Acknowledgement for help through personal communication, Claire Hills, Masterton (granddaughter), 2006.
Additional information supplied by Claire Hills : The life changing car accident in 1921 led George to decide never to drive again. He was severely injured and his cousin, Corrie Duncan Ayson was killed on the Eketahuna to Masterton Old Coach Road as they were returning from a race meeting in Woodville. Olive and their son Graeme returned to live in Masterton during the time of his recovery.
Death Notice
Ayson, George Dabinett, of 12 Winara Avenue, Waikanae. On April 8th 1971, at Wellington Hospital, dearly loved husband of Alma Grace Ayson and brother of Will (Wanganui) and Les (Titahi Bay) ; aged 82 years.
No flowers by request. In lieu of floral tributes, donations may be made to the Crippled Children’s Society, PO Box 1586 Wellington. A service will be held at the Crematorium Chapel, Karori, at 11.30am on Tuesday April 13th 1971
