When former Invercargill mayor John Martin stepped up for election on to the Invercargill City Council in 1917, he never knew he would leave an inheritance to be picked up by current councillor Steve Broad and the generations between the two.
John also did not know the Invercargill Museum, which he officially opened in 1942 as the city’s mayor, would be replaced by the council his great-great-grandson now serves on.
John’s grandson, Peter Broad, recalls his grandfather taking the helm of the council. At the time a global war was raging and military personnel were everywhere.
John opened his home to host two young American soldiers and Peter remembers his boyhood fascination with the Tommy guns they carried.
John’s parents migrated from Australia and established the Black Eagle Brewery as well as the family’s Invercargill legacy.
In the years that followed, a young John took a seat as a director of Southland Building Society and represented the province in rugby, while his sister Florence married Charles Todd, of Todd’s Auctions.
In a quirky twist of irony, Steve’s employer, Mediaworks, operates from the building now standing on the former Black Eagle Brewery and Todd’s Auctions site.
In between the old and new generations, the family’s influence has left its mark on the city in other ways.
Arthur Broad opened the iconic Broad-Smalls department store where, after fire destroyed the store in 1983, the Invercargill Library now stands.
Peter worked in the family business for a short period before turning to farm life.
"I was like a square peg in a round hole. I wanted to be out doing something a bit different and my father could see that."
The Alliance Freezing Company, Skyline Gondolas, Southland Tramping Club also have the Broad family fingerprints in their history books.
Peter diligently toiled away at setting up the Southland Multiple Sclerosis Society while taking care of his Waianiwa farm.
He believes a strong work ethic has been the most influential legacy on the family.
Michael has continued the family community service legacy serving as a trustee of the South Alive Charitable Trust.
He and his late wife Anne were also the former owners of boutique B&B, Beersheba Estate.
Steve acknowledged his heritage left some big boots to fill.
It had only been in recent years after conversations with Grandad Peter that he understood his legacy.
"You start to feel really small in this giant tapestry of what came before."
He believed he had become more aware of the shoulders he stood on since losing his mother Anne.
"I think I’ve come from a lineage of very good people that gave it a go and did their best. And I’ve always considered my role on council is to work hard, listen intently to the community, do the community proud, do my family proud and lastly do myself proud.
As the Broad legacy continues, a bronze weka has been installed on the revamped Esk St landscape to remembers the region’s pioneers and the Broad family’s sizable contribution.
- By Toni McDonald
