Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
10 Stewart was a devout church man, and in his congregation he met Lilias Jameson. Lilias was born and raised on the South Island. Her family, who were wholesale importers of Irish clothing and fabrics, had moved to Herne Bay and began attending the same church as the Stewarts. Lilias and Bob, who were both leaders in the church, developed a friendship which eventually blossomed into romance. They were married in 1932. The Stewarts had two daughters,Betty in 1935 and Helen in 1939. Bob was a devoted family man,often including Lilias in his Emmy racing crew in the early years,and in later years spending holidays cruising the Hauraki Gulf with the entire family on larger yachts. Stewart was a quiet,shy and reserved man who guarded his privacy. He enjoyed a very successful career in the paper,stationery, printing and publishing industry as a partner in the firm of Brown and Stewart, which was located in central Auckland. While beneficiaries of his successful designs often suggested to him that he become a naval architect, he kept his word to Arch Logan. Despite the fact that he spent endless hours designing yachts and consulting with future owners, he never accepted a fee. The churchman in him would request that a donation be made to the owner’s favourite charity, the Presbyterian Social Services or to the Presbyterian Church fund for the new church being built in Orakei,which Stewart was instrumental in establishing. The accountant in him asked for the tax receipt. He enjoyed countless hours consulting with existing owners on how to improve rigs,sails,rudders or any aspect about which they might be seeking sound advice. When it came to talking about boats,Stewart was definitely in his element. Bob Stewart was also a visionary. One example of this is that in 1932 he purchased land in a remote and virtually undeveloped area of Orakei. Some people thought Stewart was mad, because in the days before Tamaki drive, this area was truly the“boon docks.” Today,what was once the Stewart family home on number 80 Paratai is in the middle of Auckland’s dress circle,perched on some of the most expensive real estate in New Zealand. Helen remembers the view looking out over the water, where she and her dad could watch everything that was happening on the harbour,as well as keeping an eye on their own yacht which was kept on a mooring below in Hobson Bay. While Bob was off racing with his mates, Lilias would often have some of the other wives around the house where they could socialize and watch the racing. If Stewart was mild-mannered in his everyday life, when he took the tiller of a yacht in a race, he became much more assertive. The Stewart’s Paratai Drive home allowed them to keep an eye on thier yacht and the local racing George Backhus Parimoana Betty Stewart Black collection A young Bob working on Duchess Betty Stewart Black collection