A talent for bringing out the best in everyone

Dot Townshend

motor industry entrepreneur b 1931 d July 13, 2021

From humble beginnings to a Hawke’s Bay motor industry identity, Dorothy Townshend stood out from the crowd without trying.

Known as Dot, for her petite frame and effortless style, she was the founding shareholder of Bayswater Vehicle Group in Napier. She died earlier this month at age 90, from cancer.

The wife of the late Charlie Townshend, she had three children, Mark, Denise and Rob, and founded the Bayswater Vehicle Group with Rob 31 years ago, after her husband’s death.

Since then, the business has grown from a small corner site in Napier to seven dealerships and national recognition.

But her early life was a complete contrast with what was to come. Born in Ponsonby to a poor family, she could not attend primary school until she was 7. She never attended high school.

Her father was a stonemason, and helped to build the monument on One Tree Hill in Auckland, before he was sent to Dunedin to work on the railways.

At age 17, Dot got a job at the dentist, but soon told the boss where to go after he slapped her on the behind.

Her curiosity for travel kicked in and she and a friend hitch-hiked to Napier, where they found there was no accommodation. A local police officer allowed the young women to spend a night in one of the cells at the police station – unless someone was arrested, in which case they’d have to move.

‘‘She never told her parents about where they spent the night, or the young men they’d caught a ride down to Napier with,’’ son Rob says.

Dot got another job at Auckland’s Milne and Choyce, one of Auckland’s first department stores. She told her manager she was 20 when she was only 18, and became so good at the job that she eventually was made manager.

She met husband Charlie through her best friend.

Rob says: ‘‘Her friend was seeing someone and said, ‘This guy Charlie keeps coming, so can you come?’ She didn’t like him at first, as he bought her an icecream, and he pushed her face into it while they were at the movies.’’

Charlie was a New Zealand yachting champion, and Dot would spend time ironing all the yacht sails. ‘‘They worked very hard as a team right from the very beginning.’’

The pair began to involve themselves in the motor industry, where she, Charlie

and his brother George purchased J.E. Peach & Co. The business was renamed Townshend Motors and represented David Brown tractors, Hillman, Chrysler, Commer Trucks and operated a Europa fuel station.

In the early days, the business was in central Napier and boasted a second-floor workshop, which was innovative for the time. In later years, as Townshend Motors expanded, it was most notably associated with the Mitsubishi brand.

When Charlie died in 1987, Dot was

told she couldn’t take his place on the board because she was a woman.

The Faraday St business changed ownership, but Dot, who was then 56, had other plans. She and Rob invested their remaining equity into founding Bayswater Vehicle Group, which has since been awarded many industry accolades, including Hyundai Asia Pacific Dealer of the Year in 2016.

As the business grew, she quietly took herself away, travelling the globe.

‘‘She loved travelling,’’ Rob says. ‘‘She disappeared for about eight years, sailing the South Pacific. We’d ring her up and ask where she was, she’d say ‘Oh, I’m in Vanuatu’, or Hawaii.’’

Outside the business, Dot loved anything involving Hawke’s Bay, youth and the arts.

Because of this, Bayswater sponsored Hawke’s Bay’s Project Prima Volta, the Tabard Theatre, and young people to go sailing on the Spirit of New Zealand.

Although travel was a passion, she also loved supporting rugby and go-karting, as well as being active with yoga and Pilates. Even into her 90s, she remained flexible, and touching her toes was a doddle.

‘‘Her talent really was to bring the best out in people,’’ says Rob. ‘‘She was able to make one feel as if they were the only ones in the room. She’d rarely talk about herself, she was always asking about others, and she’d remember things too, like names of children and grandchildren.

‘‘Everyone had a story to tell about her, she always held really good conversations, and made people feel special. She was also the most remarkable host.’’

Rob describes his mother as a ‘‘very humble person’’, often helping out the cleaners after-hours and changing toilet rolls.

When she was in her 80s, she hiked through the Ugandan jungle on a gorilla trek, and walked for two hours through steep and thick jungle.

She was an ‘‘A grade champion’’ bridge player. ‘‘She was very proud of that, and had a very sharp mind.’’

A woman of vision with a strong mind for business, emotional intelligence, an extraordinary ability to close a deal, and fruitcakes at every business meeting, Dot’s mark on the world won’t be fading any time soon.

After a full, exciting and adventurous 90 years, she was farewelled at the Napier Conference Centre on July 21. –