There can be little doubt that Barber was a hugely influential figure in Wellington’s commercial development during the second half of the Nineteenth Century. In 1852, he opened an ‘Auction Mart’ on ‘The Bury Yards’ (situated in the vicinity of modern day Victoria Avenue and The Parade) where he quickly established the trustworthy and reliable reputation that became his hallmark. Three years later, Barber acquired another strip of land, behind the Duke of Wellington Hotel in New Street (now part of The Parade car park) where, in February 1855, he established a permanent livestock market, possibly the first of its kind outside London.
By providing an alternative to the traditional cattle fairs that had been held at a number of locations around Wellington since medieval times, Barber helped to eradicate several problems. Cattle, sheep and pigs had previously been driven into the town centre from all directions on fair days, fowling the streets and causing a great nuisance to local residents and traders. Furthermore, to avoid paying market tolls many farmers had taken to the practice of agreeing sales outside the tollhouses dotted around the outskirts of Wellington, rather than come into the town itself. Barber’s new railside facility rendered this practice obsolete and ended the stranglehold of dealers who had largely controlled the trade of the old fairs, often through their own sharp practices and corruption.