Ted Vallely (standing left) was a member of the Wanganui Medical and Eye Care Trust which funded equipment for Whanganui Hospital. Photo / File
Ted Vallely (standing left) was a member of the Wanganui Medical and Eye Care Trust which funded equipment for Whanganui Hospital. Photo / File
Ted Vallely QSM, well-known as a chartered accountant, businessman and supporter of the Whanganui community, died on April 25, 2020, aged 90. His son Gregor Vallely shares some insights into Ted's life.
Edward (Ted) James Vallely was born in Wellington in March 1930.
Ted's father was gassed and shot at Passchendaele in World War I and found it hard to settle back to post-war life. The family moved to Fordell when his father worked on the Fordell rail tunnel, but his father re-enlisted for World War II and didn't return to the family. They moved into town and Ted's mother supported them by working as a cook at the Red Lion. There was a lot of love but not much money.
Ted's mum said she'd buy his uniform if Ted mowed lawns to pay for his school books. He completed his school years at Wanganui Technical College, now City College, and in 1947 qualified for University Entrance with As in English, mathematics and history.
Ted didn't go to university but spent time travelling and working around Australia. Returning to Whanganui in April 1953, he had a couple of weeks' catch-up with family then got on a boat for the six-week passage to England.
Ted arrived in England in May 1953 and by the time he got to his lodging it was after midnight. He didn't want to disturb the landlady so spent the night in the churchyard across the road. He notes in his travel log: "6 hours wait, miserably cold and tired though a beautiful moonlit night with owls crying and bats from the church belfry fluttering about".
Ted worked at a sawmill in Guildford, Monday to Friday with overtime Saturday morning. He spent £18 on a bicycle and on Sundays would ride the 50km to London. In a letter to his sister, Betty, he explained he was on the road by 6.15am, arrived at Tower Bridge by 9am, spent a full day sightseeing, had tea, then headed back to Guildford to be back by dusk.
Then he got on his bike and made his way up country to Fort William in Scotland, then down to Land's End in Cornwall, then back to Guildford, over 2500km on a 1950 pushbike. In his diary for Loch Ness, he writes: "rained virtually all day – rode around the bank of the Loch, which looks scenic under any conditions – didn't see any Monster".
Back to London, working in a brewery this time, brief visits to Paris and Amsterdam then in December 1954 Ted came home.
He was approaching 25 and decided he should do something with his life, so while working at Firestone he signed up for accounting through Hemingway Correspondence School. Ted was successful with his studies and became an accountant.
After a colourful early life, Ted Vallely settled back into the Whanganui community where he was involved in business and many community organisations. Photo / Supplied
In 1960 Ted married Lynette and in 1961, with a State Advances loan, they built a home in a new subdivision at Turere Place. Ted and Lynette had three children, Gregor, Jason and Amanda.
Ted worked as accountant at Londontown department store, then in 1965 purchased an accounting practice from the estate of the late Sam Crone. The original office was across the road from the Drews Ave offices he built in 1971.
Ted was a worker, some would say a workaholic, but he said he loved his work and getting stuck in was never a problem. The accounting business prospered until he retired from public practice in 1986 at the age of 56.
While Ted is most known as a chartered accountant, he was also a businessman and it's as a businessman he contributed most to Whanganui.
He was a shareholder and director of Suzuki NZ, with the Coleman brothers Rod and Bob. He was keen to see Suzuki remain in Whanganui for the long term so in 1980 he purchased the gasworks site and developed what is now known as Pacific Pl. Ted was the driving force behind Suzuki building its Heads Rd distribution centre on his gasworks site and this complex was a significant factor in Suzuki's decision to retain its base in Whanganui.
In 1978 Ted purchased a Waihi business known as Ferrentino Helmets and relocated this business to a Heads Rd building he had bought. The business was renamed Pacific Helmets and was initially managed by his brother-in-law Ted Duggan. The business was later sold to David Bennett, who grew Pacific Helmets into the business it is today.
Away from work, Ted was a keen golfer, playing off a 5 handicap and representing the Belmont Club at pennant level. As much as he tried, he could not win the club championship, but he did win a significant victory for his club when the Belmont Forest project he devised, organised and underwrote donated the practice area and 6 fairway to the club, and also generated the club a $390,000 cash return.
In 1985, after 25 years, Ted and Lynette went their separate ways. A short time later he caught up with Jeanette, an old flame from his younger days, and this led to his second marriage.
Ted was a trustee of the Eyecare Trust which has funded equipment for Whanganui Hospital, a life member of the Boys and Girls Gym Club and Belmont Golf Club. The citation for his QSM includes mention of his work with the City College hostel, Cooks Gardens Trust Board, Hospice and Rotary's Majestic Square fundraising.
Ted was patron and an enthusiastic supporter of Brass Whanganui, who posted a moving tribute to Ted on their Facebook page.
Most importantly, Ted was a family man. He received great support from his mum and paid this forward as a stable and reliable father and grandfather to his children and stepchildren.
In 2005 Ted was awarded a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for his contribution to Whanganui. Attending Government House for the presentation, he made a last-minute decision to wear a black bow tie. To his dismay, no one was wearing bow tie except the catering team, so Gregor let him have his tie and wore Ted's bow tie for the day. Ted was pleased to receive the QSM but the medal was tucked in a drawer and no one except family ever saw it.
In 1980 Ted and Lynette had built an impressive house on the hill at Pickwick Rd. Working by the road one day he overheard a passerby say "who does he think he is".
He knew who he was. He was a local boy made good, who remembered the tough years, was proud of what he had achieved, and was able and willing to give back to Whanganui, the city he loved.
