Christchurch’s Oakleys Plumbing celebrates 150 years of family legacy

“Henry Oakley and John Taylor were the two gentlemen involved. They started out as blacksmiths, bell installers – they installed several of the major bells in Christchurch. And then general plumbing merchants in those days,” says Willis.

They were also gasfitters, brass founders, iron and tinplate workers and sanitary engineers.

An “award-winning pumice gas copper” from the Oakleys archives. Photo / Supplied

“They made car radiators for a time, you know, all sorts of things.”

History shows the company was reputable and, according to the Oakleys website, “was people-orientated with regular picnics for the staff and their families”.

Picnics for staff and family were a regular feature at Oakleys Plumbing in the early 1900s. Photo / Supplied

Oakley and Taylor parted ways in 1919 – the business was renamed Oakley & Sons.

Willis’ history with the company is much more recent by comparison – but equally rich.

“I’ve been there [since] … I’ve got to be honest, I really can’t remember – but I think 1995. Prior to that, I worked for Taylor’s, which owned Oakleys,” says Willis.

The Taylor’s that Willis worked for was the legacy business of John Taylor. When Henry Oakley died in 1924, one of his 11 children took over, unsuccessfully.

By 1934, Osmyn Oakley had put his father’s company into voluntary liquidation.

At that point, John Taylor reappeared and purchased Oakleys. He ran it separately from Taylor’s, which focused more on its engineering division.

The grave of Henry Oakley at Linwood cemetery in Christchurch. Denis Willis has spent thousands of dollars on repairing the grave and headstone. Photo / Supplied

“I left Taylor’s to have a crack at another little company in Christchurch called WG McCrory, which was the smallest plumbing merchants in Christchurch. I worked there for four years when Tony Taylor approached me and asked if my boss at McCrory’s wanted to buy Oakleys,” recalls Willis.

Denis Willis of Oakleys Plumbing, which has celebrated 150 years of business in Christchurch. The company was founded in 1875. Photo / Mike Thorpe

The pair met for a lunch that pushed well into the evening.

“He rang me at 6am the next morning. ‘Have you talked to your boss’? I said, ‘I don’t think so, Tony. I left you late last night’.”

Seemingly, that was the answer that Taylor had hoped for.

“I had breakfast with him and he said, ‘We’ll set you up to buy it’. And that’s what they did.”

Willis had a clear plan of how he wanted to operate the business.

“When I took the company over fully, I asked all the people who had worked with me for 10 years if they wished to become partners in the business. And they all did – and they are all partners today.”

Willis believes the model has not only boosted Oakleys’ performance, but it has also helped ensure its long-term future. He describes it as the “best thing” he’s ever done.

“If you work for yourself, you’ll put more into it. We opened three new branches, and each branch has its own branch manager who is at least a 25% shareholder.

“When I took Oakleys over many, many years ago, it turned over $1.2 million, and this year we’re going to crack $50m. So, it has grown. It’s all down to the people, we have superb people,” says Willis.

Oakleys’ 150th celebrations at Christ’s College last month. Photo / Pavol Nekl, Juicy Lion Media

Celebrating the company’s 150th birthday, Willis hosted his staff and francisees at Christ’s College – his old school. It had another link.

“The first building when I worked for Oakleys, we rented the land and the building off Christ’s College, believe it or not,” says Willis.

Willis is preparing to step out of the business.

Denis Willis says he’s “fading out” of the company he owns, Oakleys Plumbing, which has celebrated 150 years of business in Christchurch. Photo / Mike Thorpe

“I’ve stayed on in the role as managing director, but day to day I don’t have a lot to do with it anymore – except that I look after the stockpile.”

He knows who will step in – one of the team who joined him when he first took Oakleys on.

“[He] was a plumber with us, and he became a salesman and worked for some of our suppliers. He said to me one day ‘Denis, I’ll never work for you, but I will work with you’. And he’s now the person that’s going to take over from me running the company,” says Willis.

Mike Thorpe is a senior journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.