Joshua Frederick Papps was born in Holt, Wiltshire in June 1848 and was one of eight children born to George and Elizabeth Papps nee Bull.
In 1871 he was living in the parish of Bradford on Avon with his father, sister and nephew and was listed as being a carpenter.
For reasons unknown, the following year he emigrated to New Zealand on the ship ‘Forfarshire’ as a single man, arriving in New Zealand in March 1873. Joshua settled in Richmond and on the first day of 1874 married Selina Ann Timms, daughter of Mr Samuel Timms of Wairua Valley.
Over 15 years the couple had seven children, the last of them still young when Selina died in September 1892 after a long illness. Four years later in 1896 Joshua married, in Dovedale, Bertha Win. They went on to have six children, making a total of 13 children in the family.
Joshua began a wheelwright and coachbuilding business on the corner of Queen and Cambridge Sts and running back to Oxford St, where the family home stood. He built a blacksmith shop with a door opening onto the street and double doors into the yard. The smithy contained all the equipment needed for making the ironwork for the vehicles.
The paint shop was two-storey and had sliding doors opening onto Cambridge St. On the second floor of the paint shop the carts, gigs and buggies were stored after being finished with new paint and varnish. In order to get them upstairs, a removeable section of the upper story floor was so constructed that it could be lowered by a chain pulley. The finished vehicle would be pushed on to the platform and the whole lot pulled up to the upper floor and the section of floor then fastened into place.
In March 1906 Joshua, with son Harry, opened a second coach-building business in High St, Motueka, opposite Holyoakes Hotel where all kinds of vehicles were made to order and repairs and painting were undertaken. Around 1919 Joshua gave up the business due to ongoing ill health and he and Bertha retired to Dovedale where they lived for a few years before finally settling in Wakefield where Joshua remained until his death in April 1938.
Joshua took an active part in Richmond’s development and within three years of arriving in the settlement was on several committees. He was a member of the first Borough Council and served in that capacity for many years, a member of the School Committee, waterworks committee, the A & P Association and took an active part in the Volunteer Fire Brigade.
He was also a prominent Oddfellow, being secretary of the Loyal Travellers’ Rest Lodge and Superintendent of the Juvenile Lodge for some years. Joshua was a keen supporter of the Anglican Church at Richmond and was a member of the vestry, acted as organist in the early days and was a member of the church choir for twenty years.
Other interests included music, playing in the old Richmond Brass Band, chess, and all sports, in particular, cricket, rugby, and bowls. His upright character and generous, kindly, and unassuming nature endeared him to a large circle of friends.
