Cabinet 1: Introduction: Ernie Webber
Photograph of Investment House, headquarters of the Inter-city Companies (including Stamp Investments Limited). Corner of Victoria and Kitchener streets, Auckland. MS-3333/149.
Between 1923 and 1933, Webber worked for Trustees Executors, Dunedin, and at one stage was in charge of mortgage investments, under Sir James Mills. In 1936, in Australia, he founded the Industrial Banking Corporation, which survived in various forms until c.2000. In India, he invested in Woolworths, and back in New Zealand (c.1948-1949), he established Stamp Investments Limited and many other small companies, together known as the ‘Inter-city Group’. At one point, he planned to exploit the introduction of television to New Zealand. His financial affairs were complicated, and he continued to dabble in property deals, timber milling, and construction. Webber died in Dunedin on 15 August 1983, aged 77, and bequeathed a large sum of money and books to the Hocken Library. Investment House, tucked under Albert Park, Auckland, was where he initiated many of his financial deals.