Abraham Wachner
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Abraham (Abie) Wachner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 35th Mayor of Invercargill | |
| In office 1942–1950 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 August 1892 London, England |
| Died | 23 August 1950 (aged 58)[1] Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Resting place | Eastern Cemetery, Invercargill |
| Spouse | Mabel Christina Rice |
| Children | 2 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  New Zealand |
| Branch/service | New Zealand Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1915 |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Abraham (Abie) Wachner OBE (15 August 1892 – 23 August 1950) was the 35th Mayor of Invercargill from 1942 to 1950.[1] He was awarded the OBE in 1946.
He was born in London; his father was a furniture manufacturer of Polish-Jewish ancestry. His family moved to Australia when he was three months old and to New Zealand when he was 15. He was in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in Egypt and Gallipoli; a bugler in the field ambulance in Egypt, then he was a stretcher-bearer at Gallipoli and was invalided home after an injury at Walker's Ridge. He worked at a Greymouth drapers, then moved to Invercargill about 1919,[1] where he worked in a footwear shop then started his own footwear shop. He was known to give shoes to those in need, and to fire them down stairs to those he did not like; he had fits of temper partly attributable to his war injury. He served in the Military Reserve and Home Guard in World War II.