Michael Coad — a skilful and successful entrepreneur
Afew months before Michael Coad died, he arrived at Corday’s Auctioneers in a truck laden with goods. Although Bonham’s, the iconic Hamilton antiques business he had established with his wife Karen, had been closed for some time, Mike kept his hand in online. There were some ‘church stone garden statuary’ to sell. At a profit. Always, at a profit.
Mike’s van was well maintained. He took pride in the vehicle and in the manner he loaded, secured and unloaded the precious cargo.
‘‘Everything was always very particular,’’ says a former employee. A rag hung off the righthand side mirror, available to clean the glass as required. On that occasion at Corday’s, ‘‘. . . the blankets were perfect, they were tied up immaculately . . . nothing would move, the dogs would be in the back, he really did have it all worked out’’.
Mike, says his friend, had ‘‘his own way of doing it’’. For most of his life that way involved close partnership and collaboration with Karen. Together they revolutionised the antiques trade in Hamilton. When Karen’s illness necessitated a change, he proved a tower of strength, redirecting his energies and learning new skills.
Michael Gary Duckworth Coad was born January 7 1942 in Truro, South Cornwall, the first child of Norman Coad, a butcher and Nina Coad (nee Duckworth), a homemaker. Although he was to travel all over the world, Mike’s sense of self was invested in his Cornish roots. He resisted being labelled English. He was a Cornishman first and foremost. The Cornish coat of arms was tattooed on his own arm and served as his Facebook profile picture.
Formal education was not Mike’s forte. Leaving school at the age of 15, he found employment on a local farm.
He continued as a farm labourer for sometime until, in the pursuit of adventure, he relocated to the United States. From America the decision was made to emigrate to New Zealand. Arriving in November1965, Mike settled in Taranaki, taking a job with Newton King Ltd as a stock agent.
In the late 1960s he met student nurse Karen Lee Girdler, who was then working at New Plymouth Public Hospital. Karen was initially perplexed as to who this exceptionally determined individual was, but for him the attraction was almost instant. Five weeks after that first acquaintance Mike proposed. He and Karen were married in Waitara on July 12, 1969.
In 1971 Mike and Karen shifted to Thames, where he continued as a stock agent. Their first child, Sarah Elizabeth, was born the following year.
The Coads made Hamilton their home in January 1973, buying a house in St Paul’s Rd in Chartwell. Karen took the family’s first steps into the world of collectible antiques, establishing Cobweb Corner on Heaphy Terrace. Timothy, Mike and Karen’s son, was born in 1977.
Emboldened by the success of Cobweb Corner, in 1978 Mike and Karen together opened Bonham’s on Alexandra St, buying and selling antiques as well as functioning as a pawnbroker. Mike quickly became knowledgeable in the specialist field of antique furniture and later trained as an auctioneer. He enjoyed frequent buying trips to Europe, sustaining contact with friends and family in his beloved Cornwell.
In 1983 Bonham’s relocated to 211 Victoria St, taking over the premises of a jewellery exchange business. It became renowned for its quality presentation and highend stock. Furniture was always well waxed and polished, the floor vacuumed daily, the jewellery cabinets immaculate. Mike and Karen sought to distinguish the shop from pretenders in the field. There was a distinct absence of trestle tables or cheap crockery.
Success was born of knowledge and hard work. Mike had a keen eye for furniture and was ever on the lookout for a bargain. He could turn a profit in the most improbable circumstances. Friend and rival Patrick Garvey recalls an occasion when, unfazed by the seemingly slim pickings on offer in one sale, Mike purchased an old washing machine ‘‘from out the back’’, selling it later on Trade Me for a net gain of $25. ‘‘He was a Pom, a trader, a dealer’’, says Garvey, ‘‘and he left me for dead . . . he left everyone else for dead’’.
As a boss, Mike was generous and supportive and encouraged those who had their own aspirations in the industry, serving as a mentor years after they had left his employment. He was often innovative in the way he paid, too. One staff member of Bonham’s recalls remuneration in the form of petrol vouchers. Apparently, there was a tax loophole involved.
When Karen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Mike closed their retail operation and focused his attention on care giving. He became an exceptional cook, one who brooked no compromise in the kitchen, employing the ‘‘his way is the only way’’ approach that served him so well in business. The dishwasher was stacked and filled with the same close attention to detail as the jewellery cabinets and the delivery van.
Mike became an active member and supporter of Dementia Waikato. He established the Friends & Supporters of Dementia Waikato Facebook page, regularly organised fundraisers and was always available to talk to those whose family members were suffering from the disease, especially the partners of those who, like Karen, were transitioning into care.
Mike was strong and passionate, with a gracious spirit, a skilful and successful entrepreneur, vastly knowledgeable in his field but also a man of family and of faith, proud of who he was and where he came from. He loved deeply and well.
Michael Gary Duckworth Coad died April 30, 2022, 23 days after wife Karen Lee Coad’s death. He is survived by daughter Sarah, son Timothy, Sarah’s husband Michael and grandchildren Lachlan, Finlay, Reilly and James.
Richard Swainson
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