Wellington Dog Names

During the Great Depression, an Airedale Terrier named Paddy the Wanderer roamed the streets of Wellington, New Zealand. Paddy made friends with the cabbies, workers and seamen that he encountered, some of whom took turns paying for his annual dog license. Paddy was said to greet sailors in the Wellington Harbor and, on occasion, accompany them as a stowaway on their steam ships.

According to a phone call that was made to “The Evening Post” after Paddy’s death, a horse trainer had given the pup to the daughter of Mrs. R. Gardner of Wellington, a little girl named Elsie. Her father was said to be a seaman and as a result, Paddy (whose name was believed to be Dash) often visited the wharves. When Elsie passed away from pneumonia at only three and a half, the dog ran away and began to wander the Wellington Harbor, taking occasional trips on the ships that came in. It is said that he crossed the Tasman sea many times and had flown in a Gypsy Moth. According to rumors, Paddy traveled to San Francisco and back. Paddy was adopted by the Wellington Harbour Board under the formal title of Assistant Night Watchman, a job that including being on guard for “pirates, smugglers and rodents”. It was reported that Paddy almost became the victim of a dognapping scheme.

As Paddy aged, he wandered less and eventually became sick. A bed was placed in a shed on the wharves for him and he had many visitors who worried about him. Paddy died on July 17, 1939 at Harbour Shed no. 1, apparently after a cold snap. The pup was taken to his funeral by a parade of 12 taxicabs and the city came to a standstill for the ceremony. Money was collected in his name by the Ladies’ auxiliary of the local SPCA for a memorial. The well-known pup has had three biographies published about him as well as a monument, built in 1945, on Queens Wharf that includes a bronze statue of his likeness, and a drinking fountain with drinking bowls below for dogs. There is also a children’s book that tells his story written by Diane Haworth.