Plimmer was an early European settler in Wellington. (In 1842 the population of Wellington was approximately 3000.) John Plimmer arrived in Wellington with his family on board the Gertrude in October 1841 aged 29 years. Plimmer's skills as a plasterer and builder were in high demand and he set up in business producing mortar lime for the building trade.

Plimmer switched to the timber trade after the 1848 earthquake cut the demand for masonry buildings. He put his timber yard next to his new house on the hill above Lambton Quay, now called Plimmer Steps, where the Oak tree he planted still grows.

Plimmer took bold business initiatives and made successful investments.

· In 1850 Plimmer purchased the Inconstant and established 'Plimmer's Ark'

· he initiated the first reclamation of the Wellington harbour in the early 1850s

· he owned Barretts Hotel and several other hotels in the city

· he played an major role in the formation and development of the Railway out of Wellington to the Manawatu

· he was honoured for his role in the railway company with the naming of the seaside town of Plimmerton

· Plimmer was a generous benefactor to the city and its people

He also had a keen interest in civic matters.

· Plimmer was elected to the Wellington Provincial Council in 1857

· he was a member of the Wellington Board of Works in 1862 and of the new Wellington City Council formed in 1870

· he was a founding member of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce In his later years Plimmer became known as the 'Father of Wellington'.

John Plimmer died on 5 January 1905 aged 92, having watched Wellington develop "from a small village into one of New Zealand's finest cities".

He had eight sons and three daughters.