Lamb & Hayward Ltd was founded in 1923 by three Williams, William Sylvester Lamb, the Hon William Hayward MLC. and William Boon.

The original premises were in Cashel Street, near Fitzgerald Avenue and consisted of a small shop front, a rear mortuary and a garage. There were also two self-contained flats for staff and an area for the manufacture and polishing of the coffins. In those early days it was usual for funeral directors to hand-make and polish the coffins or caskets, a job that took many hours. The only machine in use was a crosscut saw bench.

The original founders shared a common vision - they wanted to offer a highly professional service to Christchurch people needing the services of a funeral director. They put the emphasis on quality, value and innovation; qualities that today still set the company apart.

The undertaking business had been first set up by Matthew Park. Boon & Company became involved when he commissioned them to build a specially designed funeral truck. However, Matthew Park's funeral business did not prosper as well as it should - Matthew was more interested in trucks than undertaking - and William Hayward and William Boon became financially involved in his company. The Hon.William Hayward was a prominent Christchurch businessman and he and William Boon already had shared business interests in Rink Taxis Ltd (later to be absorbed into Blue Star taxis). Eventually Park sold out ( and went on to start up another business, Parks Breakdown) and William Lamb, an experienced funeral director, joined what became Lamb & Hayward, Funeral Directors in 1923.