Henry's New Zealand cousins (see Henry family) had been involved in the fledgling timbermilling industry since their arrival in New Zealand in the 1870s, and in 1936 he was to play a pivotal role in the consolidation of the New Zealand timber industry through his involvement in the merger of his extended family's milling business with the afforestation company, New Zealand Perpetual Forests (a large bond selling company that had established 150000 acres of timber plantations, but had gone bankrupt).