Mr. Isaac William Philpott, sometime of St. Aroans, arrived by the ship “Randolph” at Lyttelton on the 16th of December, 1850. He was a native of Kent, England. After a short time spent at Lyttelton, he came to Christchurch, and was engaged in sawing timber in the Riccarton bush. Mr. Philpott purchased an acre of the Papanui bush, felled the trees, and turned them into sawn timber, firewood and shingles, for which there was a great demand in Christchurch. He also bought a team of bullocks, and carted timber and firewood from the Papanui bush and afterwards from the Maori bush, Kaiapoi, to Christchurch. Later on he bought one of the horse-power threshing machines of Barrett, Exall and Andrews, of Reading, England. This machine has been in continuous use up to the present day, and is still in good order; a proof of the good workmanship of English made machinery. Mr. Philpott acquired a fine block of land at Harewood Road, and St. Albans, and he also carried on farming in conjunction with his threshing business. The horse-power thresher was in time disposed of to his son, and he bought a steam threshing machine for use in his own business. page 370 It, too, was also finally disposed of in his sons, when he retired from business. Mr. Philopott was an active member of the Wesleyan Church, and Trustee of the Christchurch. St. Albans and Papanui churches. Previous to the erection of a church building at St. Albans, services were held at his house. He was also for a considerable time a member of the Avon Road Board, and took an active interest in the general welfare of the district. Mr. Philpott was twice married; by his first wife he had four sons and one daughter, and by his second, who survived him, four daughters and three sons. He died in 1896. aged eighty-two years. An incident connected with his early colonial experience is worth referring to as an illustration of the straits in which pioneer settlers occasionally found themselves. In 1852 Mr. Philpott bought six sacks of small potatoes for seed from Mr. John Deans, of Riccarton, at the rate of £1 per sack. Before they were applied to that purpose, however, fresh food became scarce. Accordingly, some of the potatoes themselves had to be eaten, but the peelings were planted for seed and yielded a fair crop.