Dudley Hill and Wolseley

Description

‘The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company began producing motor cars in 1895 to designs by Herbert Austin. A number made their way to New Zealand; here, Dudley B. Hill, stands beside his 1904 Wolseley two-seater at Fernhill, near Hastings. The car was likely supplied by local agent A. Jones and Sons, who sold around tenty Wolseleys to local buyers – with the exception of T.H. Lowry, who wanted a Panhard Levassor.  Jones supplied one of these, too. Other Wolseleys in the district included the large 24hp ‘whare on wheels’ brought by pastoralist G.P. Donnelly, reputedly the most powerful car of its day and theoretically capable of thundering along at a mile a minute. When Donnelly went out with his chauffeur at the wheel and family piled into the back, few mistook who was king of that road.’ – from “Cars Around New Zealand” by Matthew Wright, 2005, page 16