Sir Paul Adams has built a reputation as a trail-blazing businessman, in the kiwifruit industry, land development and civic amenities but that’s only part of his story. Before the success and accolades, he was in the 1950s an underprivileged kid growing up in a working-class suburb in Wellington. It was
‘Totally unacceptable’: Sir Paul Adams on poverty, homelessness and New Zealand’s growing social divide
Sir Paul Adams in his home in Bethlehem, Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns
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He is putting up with my interruptions to his busy daily life because he wants to shine a light on one of the many organisations that have benefited from his business nous, philanthropy and empathy.
But there’s a catch.
He doesn’t want to appear to be “boasting” or to come off as some “do-gooder looking for praise”, “saintly” or “self-promoting” in answering my questions as that’s not him.
The emails explain why he has set aside his preference to work behind the scenes: he wants to highlight the homelessness, deprivation and poverty in the community that we live in. He is deeply disturbed families are still grappling with these issues and believes successive governments have failed to help those in genuine need.
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This is also the driving factor behind his substantial support of Tē Tuinga in its quest to provide housing for people in Tauranga who are homeless or have fallen on hard times. Tē Tuinga is a registered not-for-profit community trust that was established in 1993 and provides a range of support that includes emergency housing, social services, youth care homes, prison reintegration, wellness and kapa haka, and a growing number of other services.
Asked why, given his stature as a leading businessman, he feels an affinity for those who are living day by day in often appalling conditions, he says it’s the children caught between a rock and a hard place that pulls at his heartstrings.
“Through no fault of their own kids are the losers when there is not enough money coming into households to support families and provide them with the small things in life that make a difference.”
The unacceptable level of deprivation that now exists in New Zealand is far worse than it was in the 1950s and 1960s, he says. “Everyone who wanted to work could find work and there was no shortage of jobs.”
However, he knows first-hand the challenges many homeless families face.
A class distinction in New Zealand
Before the wealth, the business accolades, the developments, the knighthood and his entry into the Business Hall of Fame, he was a child living in poverty - 1950s and 60s style, with a father prone to violent outbursts. Even then, he knew he had to escape what is now referred to as the “poverty trap”.
The 74-year-old was brought up in a state house in Naenae in the Lower Hutt.
Adams says his father was a soldier in World War II in Guadalcanal, fighting with the American forces. He suffered from “shell shock”, depression and associated mental health conditions which meant he was often not able to work and some days couldn’t lift his head off the pillow.
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He understood the challenges his father faced, but he could not forgive him for the violence he inflicted on his mother, his brother and himself. He remembers, as a child, receiving the “odd black eye” from his father, who would, in fits of rage, routinely throw the household into upheaval.
“I wished, at a young age I had the power and strength to bring this horrible family situation to an end, but I had neither the financial ability nor the resourcefulness as a pre-teenager.”
But Adams’ mother, May, did, and when he was 12 she found the courage and strength to end her marriage, effectively becoming a solo mother and the main breadwinner. There were no benefits or government assistance in the 1960s for single mums, so she relied on her skills as a tailoress, Adams says.
“Everything she earned went into rent and food and basic clothing, with very few luxuries. This in itself left her on struggle street, with no chance of being able to buy her own home or car.”
He credits her love, hard-working nature and the education pathways she encouraged him to take as providing him with that escape route.
“One enduring memory I have carried for the last 65-plus years is my desire and drive to create a better life for my family ... and to also try to help others rise above the poverty trap when I could. I was determined by ensuring I had a good education and learned how to create wealth. A highlight of my life was being able to help my mother have a better life in her last 30 years before she passed away aged 95.”
From his early teens, he came to realise there was a class distinction in New Zealand and people “who looked down their noses” at the less fortunate or those from working-class or socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs.
“I have first-hand experience of many of the social issues that our country faces today, brought about by many complex matters that have developed over the last 30 or 40 years. I worked out the only way to succeed financially was to become well-qualified professionally, with a work ethic to achieve the goals I set for myself.”
Adams worked at the Wellington Harbour Board Engineers Office to put himself through polytech and university, where he gained qualifications in civil engineering and business management. He was running the biggest civil construction company in that city at age 28, and then started his own engineering practice specialising in construction disputes, resolving many associated with the Clutha power scheme prior to the construction of the Clyde Dam.
Kiwifruit development brought him to the Western Bay of Plenty in the 1980s, where over the next 10 years, he became the owner of the largest kiwifruit orchard and management company in New Zealand, with 50 orchards and 10 packhouses and cool stores. He sold that to Fletcher Challenge, which paved the way to set up Carrus in 1989, which was also born out of his support for Tauranga’s residential growth strategy.
Carrus has been involved in creating residential land subdivisions in Wellington, Palmerston North, Taupō, Rotorua, Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga. This includes the Lakes subdivision in Tauranga, which consists of about 2000 homes.
He has developed about 10,000 residential, commercial and industrial lots over the past 40 years. Adams was knighted in 2019 for his services to philanthropy and the community and inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame earlier this year - an accolade awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to the business, economic and social development of the country.
In 2019, he made New Zealand’s NBR Rich List, again “after trying for years to be left off this list”. At the time, it was reported his net worth had increased by 30 per cent to an estimated wealth of $125 million. The topic is not something he wishes to discuss, except to say: “The harder I’ve worked, the luckier I’ve got.”
‘It’s alarming at least 200 people are living in cars or tents or roughing it in Tauranga’
When Tē Tuinga executive director Tommy Wilson asked Adams to come on board to help the organisation, he felt compelled to do so.
Adams says it is alarming at least 200 people are living in cars or tents, roughing it in Tauranga or sleeping under bridges.
In his view, it is a “totally unacceptable situation that successive governments have not done enough to eliminate”.
“It just gets worse year on year. The level of deprivation, homelessness and mental health issues requiring central government, local government, and community help in Tauranga and surrounding districts is unbelievably high.”
Organisations such as Tē Tuinga are at the frontline, and in the past 10 years, its growth has been remarkable - and achieved on a shoestring budget, he says.
“Remarkable in a negative way as homelessness, deprivation and poverty ... should simply not exist in New Zealand. Over the last few years, I have seen the level of deprivation in New Zealand and in our community rise significantly, which the majority of our community is not exposed to, or necessarily aware of, and therefore pays little attention to.”
He believes every Tauranga citizen who is able to help alongside the councils should be contributing to support this sector “instead of either not recognising the enormity of the problem, or just turning a blind eye”.
Adams has put his money where his mouth is, but remains tight-lipped about the numerous financial contributions and time he and his wife Cheryl have gifted to Tē Tuinga.
Emotional and rewarding is how he describes their involvement, and Christmas is a particularly special time when they provide food parcels, presents and a party to families who would otherwise miss out.
Adams says it is humbling “when you see many of these children caught up in homelessness and poverty light up with joy when they receive possibly the only present they are likely to receive at Christmas”.
“So what most of us take for granted, such as simple Christmas presents, are luxuries that our deprived families can’t afford. Many families cannot afford rent, let alone put enough food on the table to keep them healthy.
“In many cases, this causes further stress. Children miss out on the basic skills, food and education so fundamental to creating well-rounded future parents in NZ who are ready to contribute to the NZ economy and lift living standards.”
Adams is not alone when it comes to giving, and says Tē Tuinga is grateful for all the support it received. However, in his opinion, many wealthy New Zealanders who should be providing financial help “do not seem to have developed a social conscience or sympathy for those who genuinely need a hand-up”.
He hopes that will change.
Adams has held numerous roles that used his residential, land development and business expertise - including as IHC director and the founding chairman of Accessible Properties, which is 100 per cent owned by the IHC. Adams has helped Accessible Properties become one of the largest social housing non-governmental organisations in NZ. He was a past councillor of Waikato University, a Waipuna Hospice patron and life member, and the founding director and a life member of the Western Bay of Plenty economic agency Priority One.
His family has also had major involvement with numerous sponsorships, community functions and many other charities.
Adams only shares this with me so people can understand what “spins his wheels”, and is hopeful it might shed light on the important work Tē Tuinga and others do.
He has balanced his personal desire to keep a low profile against the need to highlight a cause he is passionate about and decided to take one for the team.
“I prefer to stay under the radar,” he says again in his last correspondence.
Tē Tuinga’s Wilson says it had a couple of “godfathers of giving” who did it for the same reasons the trust did and not for the headlines.
The purpose of Tē Tuinga was to join and weave the community together, and it was one of Adams’ strengths.
“Paul was able to manifest that joining of all the community kingpins in Tauranga Moana, and it has been our taonga, or the jewel of Tē Tuinga’s success.”
Wilson says he initially approached Adams because Adams knew the difference between the needy and the greedy.
‘I’m thinking I’m bulletproof and healthy’
After our initial email exchanges, Adams agrees to sit down with me to further discuss his involvement with Tē Tuinga and his cancer treatment.
Dressed in a smart blue and lightly checkered suit, white shirt and navy tie embellished with tiny gold motifs, Adams has a spring in his step.
It’s Tuesday at 11.45am, and he has squeezed me between business appointments and a lunch meeting.
Over a latte at a downtown Tauranga cafe, Adams says his cancer diagnosis was a “shock”.
He decided to get checked after taking his wife Cheryl to numerous appointments in Auckland for her own fight against bladder cancer.
“I’m thinking I’m bulletproof and healthy.”
However, a biopsy and consequent scan detected prostate cancer that had metastasised to his spine.
Adams says it is incurable but controllable. He did chemotherapy last year and has recently finished a round of radiation which has shrunk the tumours.
He is grateful his treatments are working and he is feeling great.
“It got me focused on the meaning of life, I can tell you that.”
As he gets up to leave, he contemplates for a second.
“Put a positive take on this cancer thing”, he says.
Adams is very much alive and kicking.
Two days later, when he opens the front door to his home alongside Lady Cheryl for a photoshoot, he apologises for any noise.
The builders have been at his place modernising and revamping their family homestead. The old kitchen is on the verandah, Cheryl says.
A philanthropist in her own right, Cheryl has attended many Tē Tuinga events and found them rewarding. A founding trustee of the Acorn Foundation and a distributions committee member for three years, she says giving back holds meaning to them both.
“It feeds the soul.”
The couple were brought up in state homes in the same neighbourhood, so their goals and aspirations aligned.
Flicking through two books their daughter Sarah had compiled to celebrate Sir Paul’s 70th and knighthood, they smile at the pictures and recall fond memories.
They met in the sixth form at Naenae College in their senior year in 1965 and have been married for nearly 53 years. The couple has two children - Sarah and son Scott, who is the general manager and managing director of Carrus Corporation - and six grandchildren.
Cheryl says she was given the all-clear for her cancer and on the same day, Sir Paul was diagnosed with his.
It has shaken their family but will not define them, she says.
“That is life. You just have to get on with it.”
Highlights at a glance
- New Zealand Business Hall of Fame laureate, will be inducted on August 10.
- Royal Honour of a Knighthood for services to philanthropy and community in 2019.
- Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015, for services to business and philanthropy.
- Director of IHC; inaugural chairman of Accessible Properties; founding Trustee of Tauranga Boys’ College; life member, patron and former trustee of Waipuna Hospice; Tē Tuinga Whanau Support Trust patron; founding director and life member of Priority One; and councillor of University of Waikato.
- Carrus Corporation executive chairman; developer of more than 10,000 residential, commercial and industrial lots over the past 40 years. Owner of the largest kiwifruit orchard and management company, including post-harvest facilities in NZ in the 1980s with 50 orchards and 10 packhouses and cool stores.
- Owner and developer of many significant commercial and industrial building developments around the North Island.
Carmen Hall is a news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, covering business and general news. She has been a Voyager Media Awards winner and a journalist for 25 years.
