Newspaper Article 1957 – Brother of Former Mayor of Napier

Brother Of Former Mayor Of Napier

The city of Napier may claim a indirect line with the inventor of the incandescent electric lamp, because Sir Joseph Swan’s younger brother, Mr George Henry Swan, was Mayor of Napier for 16 years in succession – from 1885 to 1901.

He also represented Napier in the House of Representatives, from 1890 to 1893.

Mr Swan was a progressive pioneer of Napier. He inaugurated the salt water swimming baths and the sea wall which, up till the time of the 1931 earthquake, protected the town from the sea. He led in the development of the Marine Parade in the days when the foreshore was nothing more than a shingle beach.

In addition to his civic activities, Mr Swan was a successful businessman. While conducting a photographic studio he became a large shareholder and managing-director of the Hawke’s Bay Brewery Company, and in 1869 he purchased the White Swan Brewery, which he carried on for many years.

He was also chairman of the (then) Napier Hospital Board and of the Hawke’s Bay United Charitable Aid Board, and was a member of the Napier Harbour Board for 17 years. Few men, indeed, have rendered greater service to a community than Mr George Henry Swan.

His son, Mr F.S. Swan, resides in Napier, living in retirement.