Pam Williams died peacefully on October 5, aged 88. Photo / Supplied
Pam Williams died peacefully on October 5, aged 88. Photo / Supplied
At a time when few women worked outside their homes, Whanganui teenagers Philippa and Nicola Williams had a mother who was running a company.
Pam Williams - businesswoman, Queen's Service Order (QSO) recipient, New Zealand Business Hall of Fame laureate, pilot, farmer and philanthropist died peacefully on October 5, aged88.
She leaves Philippa and Nicola, grandchildren Jessica, Zachary, Daniel, and Lydia, and great-granddaughter Augusta.
Born Pamela Margaret Jean Pearce to a farming family in the Waitōtara Valley, Pam was the only daughter in a family of six children.
"She didn't have a girlfriend until her teens when she went to Woodford House as boarder," said Philippa.
She took her idea to her lawyer, Gordon Swan, who decided to back her launching Wanganui Trawlers Ltd.
This duo created an extraordinarily successful business relationship spanning more than five decades.
"None of our friends had mothers who were in the paid workforce let alone running a company," said Philippa.
She said her mother was a household name in Whanganui.
"Everyone knew who 'Ma' Williams was.
"We knew how to take care of ourselves and do the household chores. It was our norm and I don't recall minding it much but Mum later said she felt guilty about being away from home so often.
"She was a wonderful grandmother and spent a lot of time with her grandchildren providing encouragement and advice to them. She said she missed doing that with us and wanted to be present for her grandchildren."
When Pam was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2017, her teenage grandchildren stood proudly in support. Grandson Daniel Truss escorted her on to the stage and granddaughter Lydia MacLean read the citation.
Pam with family (from left): Lydia Maclean, Nicola Williams, Jessica Dickie, Philippa Williams, Pam Williams, Zachary O'Brien, Sarah O'Brien, Daniel Truss. Photo / Supplied
Pam was awarded her QSO in the New Year Honours of 1997 for her work in establishing Wanganui Trawlers Ltd in 1965 and for her exceptional leadership in running the company which later became Wanganui Seafoods Ltd.
Never wanting to "push the female barrow" as she phrased it, Pam considered her gender was irrelevant when talking about her business leadership success.
She was, however, a rarity in the upper echelons of the New Zealand business world.
Until the 1980s there were very few women in roles like hers and she was often the only woman at the many business functions. She was succeeding in a tough industry that was completely male-dominated.
Pam dismissed any suggestions that her gender was an impediment in the industry and also refused to accept nominations for awards including the prodigious Business Woman of the Year.
Her daughter Nicola, who worked for the company for 18 years and became its finance officer, explained her mother's refusal of that particular award.
"Her rationale was that she had made her mark on her own abilities and hard work regardless of gender. When she started the business, she was a divorced woman with two children which really was remarkable at the time.
"She was a trailblazing business person who created a thriving industry that employed a lot of local people. I have always been very proud of her," said Nicola.
"I never received any preferential treatment while working for the company - if anything I was expected to work harder and longer hours but she was a very good boss all the same. She was always firm but fair."
As the business grew into one of NZ's largest vertically integrated seafood companies exporting to 16 countries, it was ranked the sixth-largest fish quota holder in New Zealand.
The company would form a number of offshore joint venture agreements including a successful 12-year partnership with a South Korean company.
"They regarded me as something of a curiosity," Pam would say years later.
"When I asked one Korean businessman the name of his wife he said, 'She does not have a name. She is my possession'. I've never forgotten that.
"I think the fact I was a woman had its advantages because at times I think they looked on me as some kind of queer specimen."
Pam with the Directors of Oyang Fisheries (bottom right is Hack Rae Lee who was the ship's representative and resided in Whanganui with his family). Photo / Supplied
In 1994 Wanganui Seafoods was sold to Sanford for $36.5 million.
Sanford's price was not the highest offer, and Nicola said they were chosen over other bidders because they indicated they would continue to operate in Whanganui.
It was deeply disappointing to Pam, her family, and business co-founder Gordon Swan when Sanford later asset-stripped the company and closed the doors in Whanganui.
Pam continued her philanthropy and commercial involvement in Whanganui, co-founding five other businesses including Air Wanganui Ltd.
Her family has held a private farewell which included a flyover by pilot Richmond Harding in his de Havilland Tiger Moth.
"Mum used to fly Tiger Moths," said Philippa.
"She loved flying and she was a very good sportswoman. She played a lot of sports and she could pick up a tennis racquet after not touching one for years and play a fierce game."
The family plan to hold a larger memorial in Whanganui at a location to be advised on November 26 with the proviso that the Covid-19 restrictions are at level 1.
