FILM PIONEER

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 278, 23 August 1945, Page 5

FILM PIONEER

Mr. Henry Hayward’s Death COLOURFUL CAREER Known throughout New Zeulaiiil as pioneer of the entertainment industry in the Dominion, Mr. Henry John Hayward died suddenly tit his home in Auckland on Tuesday. He was in his Stith year.

Born in Wolverhampton, England, the son of an eminent violinist, Mr. Hayward began Io learn music at. an early age. and left school when 1 I years old to take over the custody of his tut hiq''s collection of nearly 53 anliqiie stringed instruments. , including several priceless Stradivari us and (luaiieriiis violins. His fill her died when lie was IT. and I.wo years later the young Henry Hayward undertook his first, lug theatrical venture. Struck by an idea as lie was wandering the streets of Glasgow, he walked into the olliies of the Caledonian Steam Packet Company, demanded nil interview with the directors, and in a lew hours persuaded the company to allocate one of their big passenger ships for transformatiou into a floating theatre. jly-Hhe time he was 30, Mr, Hayward had made and lost several modest tortunes. He had been successively a tobacconist, chocolate manufacturer, proprietor of market-stalls, managing director of touring concert companies, newspaper owner, partner in a grand opera venture and director of-musical comedy. Becoming interested in motion pictures about the beginning of the century, he first showed them in rented shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh witli his partner. T. J. West.

■ By 1905 business had slumped, and a chance perusal of a volume of Captain Cook’s voyages in that year set the adventurous Henry Hayward thinking of New Zealand. With a total capital of I’SOO, he came to the Dominion, and organized a tour of "West’s Pictures and The Brescians” starling in Dunedin. In later years he was fond of quoting 13 as his lucky number, for his show opened on Friday the 13th to an audience of 13. The first New Zealand tour lasted 13 months and made a prolit of £13,000.

In the early days the greatest dillicuity was to find halls in which to show films, and the first theatres were empty shops, warehouses, schools and deserted churches. At Wanganui the first regular cinema was in an auction mart, at Napier in a garage, at Christchurch in a horse bazaar ami nt Wellington in an old church. From Auckhtml’s first permanent picture show in the Royal Albert Hall was evolved the large theatrical concern that later was known as Fuller-Hayward ’Theatres, of which Mr. Hayward later became president and governing director. His story through the early years of this century is the story of the growth of the cinema in New Zealand.

At the time of his death he was president of the Rationalist Association. He took an active interest in astronomy, and was a keen horticulturist, Air. Hayward is survived by his wife and one son, Mr. I’. 11. Hayward, who is well known in the film industry in Auckland.