Ebenezer Vickery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1 March 1827 |
| Died | 20 December 1906 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Ebenezer Vickery (1 March 1827 – 20 August 1906) was an Australian businessman, pastoralist and philanthropist.
Ebenezer was born in London and arrived in Sydney with his parents and siblings aboard the Richard Reynolds in 1833. He was educated at W. T. Cape's Sydney College, and left school at age 16 to become apprenticed to T. Bowden, ironmonger. In 1849 he joined the mercantile firm of Richard Fawcett. His father concentrated on squatting in 1851 and Ebenezer took over the boot factory in George Street. [1] He married Jane Begg in 1851. [2]
In 1860 Vickery moved to larger premises in Pitt Street, adding general trading and importing. He became chairman of the Fitzroy Ironworks Co. in 1864 and though he reorganised the company financially, it failed for other reasons: this was Vickery's only business setback. Fitzroy iron was used the same year in the construction of his new chambers in Pitt Street, the first building in the colony to use structural iron. Next year his Sydney factory, associated with J. E. Begg's Glenmore tannery, employed twenty-five persons on the premises and about seventy-five outworkers.
He visited England in 1866 and became interested in the shipping trade; he had the Parramatta built there and became part-owner of the several other ships. He was executive commissioner for Fiji at the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition.
Vickery gradually built up a vast empire by hard work and sound business acumen. He acquired an interest in seven coal-mines; he owned two colliers and a colliery at Mount Keira, was chairman of the South Greta Coal Co. and of the Mount Kembla Coal and Oil Co., and in 1896 took over the Coal Ciff Coal Co. from the estate of Sir Alexander Stuart. He was one of the largest station-owners and property speculators in the colony: among the runs he held was Munyer near Moree, which in 1884 covered 170,000 acres (68,797 ha) (68,797 ha) and carried 2800 cattle and 9600 sheep. He had much real estate in Sydney, including the suburb of Waverley, and was a director of the City Bank of Sydney, the Pacific Fire and Marine Insurance Co., the Perpetual Trustee Co. and the Mutual Assurance Society of Victoria. He also was a member of the general committee of the New South Wales Free Trade Association and chairman of the New South Wales Trade Protection Society. In 1881 he took his sons Ebenezer and Joseph into partnership and in 1902 his entire business was incorporated as a public company under the style of E. Vickery and Sons Ltd; it became a proprietary company in May 1937.
Vickery's political career began in 1863, when he was elected to councillor of the Waverely municipality to represent the ward of Bondi. [3] Later appointed to the Legislative Council of New South Wales in 1887, [4] he confined his speeches to social and mining matters. He opposed the cremation bill but supported Sir Alfred Stephen's radical divorce bill in April; speaking on the coal-mines regulation bill in October 1894 he strongly defended capitalism, attacked 'union leaders and socialistic agitators' and opposed the eight-hour clause and the proposed minimum age of 14 for boys in mines. [2]
A staunch Methodist, Vickery made lavish donations to the Church. In 1901–02 he spent £10,000 on tent missions throughout New South Wales. He bought the Lyceum Theatre in Pitt Street in 1905, spent £27,000 on alterations and gave it to the Church: it was opened in September 1908 as 'The Vickery Mission Settlement'. A founder and honorary treasurer of the Sydney Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), he also gave money and help to the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and was a benefactor to Sydney public charitable institutions. Self made and self-contained, Vickery cared little about society or culture: his business, his family, his Church and his philanthropic work were his absorbing interests.
In 1905 at Camden Park, Menangle, Vickery married Deborah Ellis. They visited the United States of America and England for him to study modern evangelistic methods. He survived the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake in California, but died after an operation at Leeds, England, on 20 August 1906. [5] [6] He was buried in Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, not far from his fine residence, Edina, now part of the War Memorial Hospital in Birrell Street, Waverley. The residence was sold by his wife to the Church and opened as a hospital in February 1921. [7] His estate was sworn for probate at £483,354, of which £11,000 was willed mainly to Methodist charities.
Waverley is a suburb in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.
Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government areas in New South Wales. Waverley is bounded by the Tasman Sea to the east, the Municipality of Woollahra to the north, and the City of Randwick in the south and west. The administrative centre of Waverley Council is located on Bondi Road in Bondi Junction in the Council Chambers on the corner of Waverley Park.
Thomas Rowe was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly.
John Norton was an English-born Australian journalist, editor and member of the New South Wales Parliament. He was a writer and newspaper proprietor best known for his Sydney newspaper Truth. Norton was arguably one of Australia's most controversial public figures ever.
Alfred Edden was a politician, trade union organiser and coal miner in New South Wales, Australia. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for more than 28 years, including 3 as Secretary for Mines. He was a foundation member of the Labor Party but left the party twice, in 1891 over the question of the solidarity pledge and was expelled in 1916 over the question of conscription.
Major Clarence Edward Martin was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1932 and from 1939 until his death in 1953. He was variously a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW), the Industrial Labor Party and the Labor Party (ALP). He was the Attorney General of New South Wales from 1941 until 1953 and also held the position of Minister for Transport for six months prior to his death.
The Fitzroy Iron Works at Mittagong, New South Wales, was the first commercial iron smelting works in Australia. It first operated in 1848.
Alfred Gambier Newman was an Australian architect active in the first 20 years of the 20th century. He designed significant work for both the Methodist Church and the Newman and Vickery families.
John Beveridge, JP was a New South Wales businessman, sportsman and local government politician, who served as an Alderman (1886–1891) and Mayor of Redfern (1891).
James Ebenezer Tonkin was an English-born Australian politician.
Lewis Lloyd was a Welsh-born Australian mining entrepreneur and politician.
Thomas Brown was a Scottish-born Australian politician.
Alexander Cecil Knox Mackenzie was an Australian cricketer. He played 48 first-class matches for New South Wales and Rest of Australia between seasons 1888/89 and 1906/07. In the Sydney grade competition he is most well known for having played for the Paddington and Waverley clubs.
Barnett Levey was a Jewish English–Australian merchant and theatre director. Levey was born in London and migrated to Sydney in December 1821 as the first free Jewish settler. From 1826 Levey had joined concerts as a singer. In 1832 he received the first theatre license. In 1833, Levey founded Theatre Royal, Australia's oldest theatrical institution, and has been regarded as the "father of Australian theatre."
John Douglas Morrison was an Australian police officer for the New South Wales Police Force, where he rose to the rank of Chief Inspector, and local government politician who was an alderman, deputy mayor and mayor of the Municipality of Waverley. He was the father of Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.
William Johnson (1811–1866) was an English-born organist, conductor, composer, organ builder and music publisher based in Sydney.
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Hartley on 21 April 1876 because the Committee of Elections and Qualifications found that Thomas Brown had an office of profit under the crown and declared that his seat was vacant.
Obed West was an early resident of Sydney, Australia and a story-teller of its early days.
The Lyceum was a live theatre in Sydney, Australia, which became the Sydney City Mission for the Methodist Church.
Farmer and Company, commonly known as "Farmer's", was a retail store in Sydney, Australia.
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
