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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]

Venn, Frederick William

Venn, Frederick William, Farmer, Summer Hill, Makerua, near Shannon. Born in the early forties in a rural district of England, Mr. Venn worked as a factory lad until fourteen years of age, when he obtained employment in a woodworking establishment, After serving his term at this business, he signed articles on the ship “Maori,” bound for Auckland. For ten years altogether he was at sea, and in 1874, having in the meantime married, he determined to settle down in New Zealand, which be considered unequalled. He spent two years in Wellington, leaving to start a wood-working establishment at Palmerston North, which at that time, 1876, was almost a wilderness. As the place was settled and the town grew, Mr. Venn's business thrived, and his wares became well-known along the Coast. In 1890 he relinquished business and took up the land now known as Summer Fill. Whilst in Palmerston North Mr. Venn sat as a borough councillor, and is now (1896) serving a third term on the Horowhenua County Council. In 1892 he revisited the Old Country, after an absence of nearly twenty-five years.