Biography

Joseph Longhurst Gregory son of William and Ann (nee Morgan) of London was born 14 July 1836. His father was a merchant taylor with a business near Bloomsbury Square, an area of employment followed by Joseph’s brothers.

Joseph sailed from London on 18 April 1860, his port of destination the Port of Geelong, in Australia. His fare was the princely sum of 16 guineas, the ship the “Bonaventure”.

He met Margaret Warnock and they left Melbourne for Dunedin where their marriage took place on 25 May, 1864. Joseph had been lured to NZ by the Otago goldfields.

Alexander Cameron and Gregory had been employed by the firm of Fergusson and Mitchell in Melbourne. After establishing a Dunedin Branch, the firm became the leading general printers in nineteenth century Dunedin.

After a short period working with another master lithographer and a brief sojourn in the Otago goldfields, Gregory carried on his own business until linking with the staionery firm of Coulls Culling Ltd about 1882. Further mergers created the familiar name Coulls Somerville and Wilkie Ltd. And Whitcmb and Tombs Ltd ultimately merged as Whitcoulls Ltd in the 1970’s.

Gregory withdrew from the lithography business about 1869 because of illness, and Mrs Gregory commenced business as a general storekeeper in Elm Row. She carried on with this for several years. The association with printing lasted about 55 years.

Their two sons, William and Alfred were printers also. Hurst and Harvey carried on the printing association into the third generation

Died 30 July 1904

Ref: Gregory’s – Camerons Printers to Dunedin. Compiled by Nevill Wilson and Edgar Gregory fom notes and material assembled by Elizabeth Gregory.

Gregory’s Lithography
Source: Edgar Gregory