Hugh GreenFounder
My real happiness is family, the farms, the cows and people. You come in with nothing and you go out with nothing, and you just need the bare essentials while you're here. And that's how I've lived my life.
CATTLE DEALER, ENTREPRENUER AND PHILANTHROPIST
Leaving school at age 12, Hugh became a cattle drover and dealer, which began his lifelong passion for cattle trading. At age 17, like many Irish people, he left his home town and country to make a better life for himself. After a short time in England and Scotland he moved to Australia. He worked as a sugar cane cutter in Queensland, on a hydro scheme construction in Tasmania and as a water main trenching contractor in Melbourne.
Hugh Green - a powerhouse of a man who understood the value of a hard day’s work and combined that with his knack for a deal to, together with old mate, Barney McCahill, grow a business digging trenches into one of New Zealand’s largest civil construction companies.
With profits from the contracting business, the Green and McCahill Group of Companies later diversified into property investment, predominantly in large farms in the wider Auckland and Waikato region.
A humble man of simple pleasures, Hugh's strong social conscience inspired by his experiences of poverty growing up in Ireland, saw him donate extensively to charitable causes from early on in his career, whilst also continuing to indulge in his first love -cattle dealing.
The other touchstones of his life being his strong Catholic faith, his devotion to his family and his love for Ireland and New Zealand.
Hugh died age 80 at his home in Mt Albert, Auckland where he had lived for more than 50 years. His business and philanthropic work continues today through the Hugh Green Group and The Hugh Green Foundation.
Timeline
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1931
Born in Raphoe County Donegal, Ireland, the fifth of eight children
1931
Born in Raphoe County Donegal, Ireland, the fifth of eight children
1943
Left School at the age of 12 and worked as a cattle drover and dealer
1943
Left School at the age of 12 and worked as a cattle drover and dealer
1949
Moved to Scotland and later England working on hydro schemes and railway
1949
Moved to Scotland and later England working on hydro schemes and railway
1950
Sailed to Australia, formed Donegal Construction Company with Barney McCahill laying water mains for Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works
1950
Sailed to Australia, formed Donegal Construction Company with Barney McCahill laying water mains for Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works
1952
Moved to New Zealand, formed a partnership with Barney and recruited a gang of Irishmen to lay cables for the Post & Telegraph Department in Wellington
1952
Moved to New Zealand, formed a partnership with Barney and recruited a gang of Irishmen to lay cables for the Post & Telegraph Department in Wellington
1953
Moved to Auckland and formed Green & McCahill (Contractors) Limited
1953
Moved to Auckland and formed Green & McCahill (Contractors) Limited
1955
Married Moira Buckley, the daughter of an Irish immigrant, and later raised five children
1955
Married Moira Buckley, the daughter of an Irish immigrant, and later raised five children
1968
Established the Hugh Green Trust that donated extensively to many charitable causes
1968
Established the Hugh Green Trust that donated extensively to many charitable causes
1998
Established the Hugh Green Foundation as the vehicle to continue his philanthropic activities
1998
Established the Hugh Green Foundation as the vehicle to continue his philanthropic activities
2001
Green and McCahill separated their interests and the business comprised of 50 plus companies was renamed the Hugh Green Group
2001
Green and McCahill separated their interests and the business comprised of 50 plus companies was renamed the Hugh Green Group
2006
Conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the National University of Ireland, Galway
2006
Conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the National University of Ireland, Galway
2007
Inducted in to the Manukau Business Hall of Fame for services to business and society
2007
Inducted in to the Manukau Business Hall of Fame for services to business and society
2011
Awarded a Papal Knighthood in recognition of his outstanding contribution to New Zealand society and generous support of many charitable causes over many years
2011
Awarded a Papal Knighthood in recognition of his outstanding contribution to New Zealand society and generous support of many charitable causes over many years
2012
Hugh Green passed away
2012
Hugh Green passed away
2013
Posthumous induction in to the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame for services to business and society
2013
Posthumous induction in to the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame for services to business and society