The fall of a giant

Next year another of the landmarks of the country will fall.
Smith and Caughey’s, one of the oldest department stores in New Zealand will close, bringing to an end 144 years of history.
It’s a sign of the times that once was the pinnacle of shopping can no longer compete with modern times. Online shopping and a pandemic have put an end to what used to be considered destination shopping.
The shop was the brainchild of a woman. Marianne Smith, a notoriously private woman, who nevertheless has had her name remembered for decades.
Born Marianne Caughey on March 10, 1851, to James and Jane, one of seven children in Portaferry, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Marianne worked for charity missions in Belfast before marrying William Henry Smith on July 21, 1874, who worked with her brother at a drapery store.
After a short time in New York, they returned to Belfast to start a charitable mission but William’s health deteriorated and they decided to come to New Zealand.
They arrived in Auckland and Marianne started Smith’s Cheap Drapery Warehouse on Queen St. With the business only just starting, William initially worked for another draper, but by 1881 it was doing so well, he left to join Marianne.
She had several principles that served the store well including “small profits and quick returns” and she advertised in a Maori language newspaper Te Korimako.
Andrew Caughey joined the business in 1882 and the name changed to the familiar Smith and Caughey.
The shop moved to the western side of Queen Street and began importing goods which upset local wholesalers.
Marianne’s role - although vital to the company, as founder and buyer was - as was common for married women at the time, rarely acknowledged.
Behind the store, Marianne continued Methodist mission work and helped establish the Helping Hand Mission which along with the Sisters of the Poor helped nurse people in their homes.
She continued with charity work all her life.
The couple had wanted a family but Marianne suffered a number of miscarriages and stillbirths and on a trip to Britain in 1908 informally adopted a boy called Reginald.
William died four years later leaving Marianne a wealthy widow. She joined the Smith and Caughey board as a director and was often called Mrs Caughey Smith.
In 1916 she gave her and William’s former home, The Grange in Herne Bay, to the Salvation Army to become an orphanage.
She donated a great deal of money to hospitals, and gave two parks to Auckland - Quinton Park after Quinton Castle in Portaferry and one in Green Bay.
Her charitable work was recognised in 1935 when she was given an MBE.
She remarried in 1932 to Reverend Raymond Preston.
Marianne died on September 1, 1938 leaving a huge estate, most of it went to set up homes for aged infirm and impecunious women. The trust she established held half the shares in Smith and Caughey Ltd and administered the Caughey-Preston Rest homes and Geriatric Hospital in Remuera.
She is buried in Purewa Cemetery.
Photo of Queen St from Te Papa’s Collection.​