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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]
Mr. John Wainhouse Neal
Mr. John Wainhouse Neal, who was almost continuously a member of the Napier Borough Council from its formation, until his death, on the 7th of January, 1898, was one of Napier's most respected business men, and was intimately connected with its progress. He was born at Southport, near Liverpool, England, in the year 1839, but was educated and brought up in Yorkshile. Coming to New Zealand early in 1861, he spent about three years in Auckland, after which he settled in Napier, and was in partnership with Mr. John Close for nearly thirty-four years, few firms being better known throughout the colony than that of Neal and Close. As a public man, Mr. Neal carried into his work that punctilious attention and integrity which were his chief characteristics. He was chairman of the public works and waterworks committee, and a member of the finance committee, where his business abilities were of great service, and he was a painstaking member of the Napier Harbour Board, to which he was elected on seven consecutive occasions. On the Hawke's Bay Charitable Aid Board, the Napier Hospital Trust, and the Napier High School Board of Governors, Mr. Neal also rendered valuable services, and his innumerable acts of private and public charity were marked by an absence of ostentation. In 1870 he married Miss Close, a sister of his partner, and at his death he left a family of three daughters.
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The Late Mr. J. W. Neal.