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In July 1897 Friedlander Brothers opened a new horse mart to meet the increased demand resulting from better prices and increased wheat production. Already their buildings occupied a large part of the frontage on West Street. Finally in 1902 came Friedlanders’ contract with the British Government for the supply of 18,000 tons of oats for mounted troops in South Africa at a price of nearly £150,000. Hugo declared that this was one of the largest contracts made by that government overseas.

At the opening of the horse mart, when the Friedlanders entertained 300 farmers and businessmen, George W. Leadley declared that Hugo Friedlander and E. G. Wright had done most for Ashburton. No doubt Leadley was thinking as much of his public services as of business operations and Friedlander replied that Grigg had done more. Nevertheless, this was not the only similar tribute to Friedlander’s standing.

In local business, Friedlander had one serious competitor—David Thomas. He was a Scot whose family had emigrated to Melbourne. He made two trips to New Zealand in the 1860s, the first in order to waggon supplies to the Dunstan gold diggings, and the second to bring a consignment of English Leicester sheep—during 1867 he was managing Spaxton for H. J. Cridland. In 1877 he again came to New Zealand and joined the Christchurch stock firm of H. Matson and Company as auctioneer. From the following year he conducted regular sales at Ashburton in Bullock’s yard. Two years later, the company built a large store on the corner of West and Tancred Streets, with ‘tan’ down the centre for parading horses for sale. In 1882 Thomas settled in the town as local manager for the firm, now Matson, Cox and Company. During 1883, the branch became a separate firm as Matson, Cox and Thomas and in 1887 came completely under Thomas’s control.

Although Thomas acted as his own auctioneer and his business activities were largely confined to the county he, too, had a large store filled at times with wheat and, in 1890, he added another building to contain 400 bales of wool. In 1886, Friedlander and Thomas combined with Miles and Company to promote wool sales in Ashburton. The sales, held twice a year, began by offering 400 bales and exceeded 5000 bales before, in the mid-1890s, the opposition of the woolbuyers ended them. In 1897 Thomas opened a seed-cleaning plant, thus entering into a field of business which for nine years had been Friedlanders’ preserve. On his side Thomas could claim a practical monopoly of horse sales which,