Whitcombe and Tombs

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Whitcombe & Tombs Limited was a book publisher, stationery manufacturer, and retail bookseller in New Zealand. It began in 1882 in Cashel Street, Christchurch, as a partnership between a teacher of French who had become a bookseller, George Hawkes Whitcombe, and printer George Tombs.

In 1883 the company was among the first registered under the Companies Act 1882. It had market dominance for several decades. Thousands of schoolchildren were taught with the aid of Whitcombe's Progressive Primers and later enjoyed Whitcombe's Story Books such as The Adventures of Hoppity Bobtail.

The company, in common with most companies, did not have a completely trouble-free relationship with employees. A court judgment Whitcombe & Tombs Limited v Taylor (1907) 27 NZLR 237 stated the principle that "a well established custom or practice may become part of a contract" (as noted by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in CA246/03, nearly a century later, despite half a dozen intervening changes of employment law).

The Whitcombe and Tombs fire in Princes Street, Dunedin, was a major event (producing numerous bargains at the subsequent Fire Sale).

Disrespectful New Zealanders occasionally used a Spoonerism of the company name.

In 1971 the group as a whole was merged with Dunedin-based firm Coulls Somerville Wilkie to become Whitcoulls, and has since been sold several times. It now operates as a retail chain only.

The limited company itself described here has changed its name to reflect the changes in ownership. It became the holding company Printing and Packaging Corporation Limited at the time of the merger. It became Whitcoulls Group Limited in 1982, WGL Group Limited in 1993 and has been known as WGL Retail Holdings Limited since 1995. It is still on the companies register as company number 120265. Its current ultimate parent that can be traced appears to be Whitcoulls Finance in Australia, ACN 109 241 394.