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Isaac Richardson Vialou (1816 – 31 October 1884) was a builder, architect and the first Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand. He was born in England and emigrated to New Zealand in 1858.
Isaac Richardson Vialou | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st Mayor of Hamilton | |
| In office 5 February 1878 – 18 December 1878 | |
| Succeeded by | John Blair Whyte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1816 |
| Died | 31 October 1884 Ohinemutu |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Wood (m. 1838) |
Isaac was born in 1816,[4] married Elizabeth Wood on 28 January 1838[5] and was recorded as a bankrupt[6] builder and decorator at 37 Fish Street Hill, London in 1856.[7] He described himself as an architect for the London Armoury Company,[8] presumably when they built their factory in 1856.
Their family consisted of at least two daughters, Emily[9] and Louise,[10] and a son.[11]
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He emigrated to Wairoa in 1858[12] and by 1859 he was selling a farm near Ōtāhuhu[13] and a J R Vialou ('J' was often used for his first initial, even including his probate)[14] was advertising as an architect at Smale's Point.[15] He built several prominent buildings, including the Auckland courthouse on Chancery St in 1860.[16] An 1863 advert for his Sanitary Depot in Victoria Street was for ‘‘importers of stone, cement and building materials, manufacturers of bricks pipes etc, stockists of closets, lavatories, hand basins etc’’.[17] The brickworks was at Point Chevalier.[18] Isaac must have returned to London, as he returned from there in 1863.[19] By 1864 Isaac was running the Auckland Hotel.[20] He also took on the Greyhound Hotel in 1867,[21] but transferred it to I Vialou later that year[22] and then, largely due to the recession, went bankrupt,[23] though his family still owned property.[11] His pig farm at Point Chevalier was sold under a court order in 1868[24] and he was in the Debtors' Prison that year.[25]
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Isaac's fortunes must have improved quickly, for he sold a Panmure hotel in 1872[26] and was architect for Alfred Cox, to build the now listed, Lake House,[27] at Hamilton the same year.[28] Another of his houses on the NZ Historic Places Register is Maungawhare in Otumoetai, built in 1878.[29] In 1872,[30] he built his house and carriage works on Victoria St, between Hood and Collingwood Streets.[31] In 1873 that Hamilton builder, wheelwright and blacksmith partnership with Thomasson & Co came to an end and became Vialou & Co,[32] which made agricultural implements, mattresses, cabinets and picture frames, as well as being a builder, timber merchant, millwright, wheelwright, painter, surveyor and architect.[33] He had one of his apprentices sentenced to 48 hours in the lock-up, with bread and water.[34] However, he also hosted an annual dinner for his staff.[35]
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He was elected to Hamilton Town Board in 1876,[36] the same year that his architectural work was criticised in court.[37] Voting was 90 : 72 : 8 when Isaac was elected as Hamilton's first mayor in 1878.[38] The main issues during his term as mayor were a bridge over the Waikato[39] and extension of the railway towards Thames.[40] During the ceremony marking the end of his term as mayor, he started driving the first pile of the Union Bridge.[41]
After leaving office he remained on the council,[42] until he resigned in 1882.[43] He also continued with his business, such as building the Waikato Hotel[44] in Hamilton East in 1879.[45] An 1880 guide said, "whatever he does is done in such a first-class style as cannot be excelled in Hamilton, or Auckland. . . his establishment, taking it as a whole, is the most complete one of the kind in the colony."[46] In 1881 he retired, passing his business on to others.[47][48][49] The premises were put up for sale in 1885[50] and sold in 1886.[1]
Isaac became ill and returned to Auckland,[12] before moving to Ohinemutu in 1884,[51] to manage Lake House Hotel. He died later that year, on Friday 31 October, after suffering, "delicate health, and apoplexy",[52] aged 68.[53]
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Vialou Street in Hamilton was named after their first mayor[54] in 1913.[55] The street was formed in 1917.[56]
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