David Nathan

Who is David Nathan?

David Nathan was an early colonial shopkeeper in New Zealand. His marriage to Rosetta Aarons in 1841 was the first Jewish service held in New Zealand.

Born in London, Nathan migrated first to Australia in December 1839 and then for New Zealand on the Achilles, leaving Sydney for the Bay of Islands in February 1840. He set up a store, first in Kororareka, then Auckland when it became the capital in place of Okiato in the Bay of Islands. On 31 October 1841 he married, Rosetta Aarons, the widow of Captain Michael Aarons. As his business prospered, he traded in kauri gum and tea and operated a bond store. He was a founder member of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, established in 1856, and president in 1868. He was a trustee of the Auckland Savings Bank from 1864 to 1885 and vice president from 1878 to 1882, was an early commissioner for the port of Auckland, and served on the city council in 1854–55. He set up L.D. Nathan and Company for his sons, Laurence David Nathan and Nathan Alfred Nathan, just before he retired from business in 1868.