Woolf Fisher

Who was Woolf Fisher?

Sir Woolf Fisher was an East Tamaki, New Zealand, businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Fisher & Paykel, a major appliance manufacturing company, and the Ra Ora Stud, an important Thoroughbred racehorse breeding operation.

Born in Wellington, his family moved to Auckland where he studied at Mount Albert Grammar School. Woolf is the oldest brother of renowned fashion entrepreneur and philanthropist, Gus Fisher. A salesman turned businessman, Fisher was involved in a number of successful New Zealand enterprises. He served as the first chairman of New Zealand Steel Ltd.

In 1960, he established the Woolf Fisher Trust to provide funding that maintained the salaries of post-primary schoolteachers and principals while sending them overseas to further their education. Fisher also supported the Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand and in 1961 became its first president.

Fisher was knighted in 1964 for his contribution to New Zealand's economy and for his philanthropic works. He died in 1975 while at his vacation home on the lake at Rotorua. Following its formation, in 1994 Woolf Fisher was inducted in the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.