History of the Ormonds of Ormond Rd

HISTORY SEARCH: Philip Caesar and his family have been in Gisborne gathering information on his grandfather John Ormond, who founded Ormond's Motors and lived at 5 Ormond Road (next picture) for decades. Philip Caesar shared stories outside the old family home with Angela Holdsworth (left), granddaughter of the Ormonds, and Philip’s daughters Annabelle Caesar and Caroline Grbich. Pictures supplied

THE grandson of one of Gisborne’s leading automotive dealers for decades in the 20th century has been in Gisborne to gather information on the history of the Ormonds of Ormond Road.

Philip Caesar is the grandson of John Henry Ormond and Mable Cox, who lived at 5 Ormond Road for decades.

“John was the founder and proprietor of Ormonds Motors, which was a significant automotive business in Gisborne,” Mr Caesar said.

Ormonds Motors was founded in the early 1900s and remained a prominent Gisborne business into the latter part of the 20th century.

Mr Ormond sold Ormonds Motors before his death in the 1950s.

The company operated from a site in Peel Street initally and then in the mid-60s moved, remaining under that name, to new premises built at the Midway end of Gladstone Road.

“My family and I have been visiting folk in Gisborne this week and trawling through archives to gather information for a book I will write on the Ormond family.”

The book is to be titled ‘The Ormonds of Ormond Road”.

Mable Ormond (nee Cox) was the sister of Freda and Alfred Cox, who donated the land for the city park of that name in Grey Street.

“The public library and museum staff have been very supportive in assisting us in our information hunt,” Mr Caesar said.

“Yet I am sure there are many more stories to be shared. So I put the call out to anyone who may have stories, photographs, documents that might be of interest, to share them for the book.”

Mr Caesar can be contacted at ormondsoformondroad@gmail.com.

“This is an ambitious collaborative project to collate some of our city’s interesting history.”