Sir Samuel HordernKBE (24 September 1876 – 3 June 1956) was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 to 1926.
Early years
Samuel Hordern was born on 24 September 1876 at Retford Hall, Darling Point in Sydney, the eldest son of Samuel Hordern and Jane Maria Booth. His father was the grandson of Anthony Hordern I, who established the eponymous store as a drapery shop in 1823, and his mother was the daughter of prominent Sydney produce merchant and later Alderman, John Booth.[1][2] Educated at Sydney Grammar School and Bath College in England, Hordern returned to Sydney in 1895 to take up employment in the family business.[1] On 4 March 1900, Hordern married Charlotte Isabel Annie See, daughter of Premier Sir John See, at St Jude's Anglican Church, Randwick and they had one son and two daughters. In the same month, Hordern purchased the 1890 Federation Arts & Crafts house, "Tuxedo", in Albert Road, Strathfield, which became the family's residence until July 1914 when Hordern sold it for £3500.[3]
Anthony Hordern & Sons
On the death of his father in August 1909, in accordance with his father's will, Hordern took over management of the family company, which employed more than 4000 people in its store and mail-order business and imported, manufactured and sold a vast range of merchandise.[4][5] In 1910, Hordern purchased the 1837 Darling Point mansion, "Mount Adelaide", from the family of Henry Mort, and commissioned architects Morrow & De Putron to design and build a Federation Arts & Crafts mansion, which he named "Babworth House" and which became his family's primary residence from 1915 until his death in 1956.[6]
Hordern publicly listed the company in 1912 and restructured it in 1920.[7] Hordern retired from the business in 1926, when he sold it to a public limited liability company for the sum of AU£2,900,000, described at the time as the "largest business sale that has ever taken place in the history of Australia".[8][9][10]
The Hordern Pavilion at the Sydney Showgrounds was built in 1924 to commemorate the Hordern family business and Hordern's long-standing role as president of the Royal Agricultural Society. Cape Hordern (originally "Hordern Island") in Antarctica was named after him by Douglas Mawson of the 1911–1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition to honour his philanthropic support of the expedition.[24] Hordern died age 79 on the same day as his sister, Jane, at his Darling Point residence, "Babworth House", on 3 June 1956.[25] Following his death in 1956 the contents of Babworth House were sold at auction and the mansion was sold to a trust to become a hospital.[6]
References
^ abSimpson, Caroline (1983). "Hordern, Sir Samuel (1876–1956)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^"John Booth". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^"MR. SAMUEL HORDERN'S WILL". The Daily Telegraph. No. 9468. New South Wales, Australia. 2 October 1909. p. 13. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ab"Babworth House". Search for heritage. NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^"Anthony Hordern and Sons Limited". The Land. Vol. X, no. 493. New South Wales, Australia. 2 July 1920. p. 15. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Anthony Hordern and Sons". The Manning River Times And Advocate For The Northern Coast Districts Of New South Wales. Vol. 56, no. 7029. New South Wales, Australia. 24 April 1926. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL PROVIDENT SOCIETY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 18 August 1915. p. 4936. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
^"NEW SOUTH WALES (STATE) LIST". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 370. New South Wales, Australia. 6 May 1935. p. 6. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Awards Made Of Special Coronation Medals". The Labor Daily. No. 4191. New South Wales, Australia. 12 May 1937. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The President of the Royal Agricultural Society". The Armidale Express And New England General Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 28 May 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Pillars of the Royal Agricultural Society". Country Life Stock And Station Journal. Vol. XXXVI, no. 95. New South Wales, Australia. 20 March 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"COMPANY NEWS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 385. New South Wales, Australia. 10 March 1932. p. 11. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"A.M.P. CHAIRMAN RESIGNS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 34, 205. New South Wales, Australia. 8 August 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"ROYAL PRINCE ALFRED HOSPITAL". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 731. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1939. p. 14. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"NEW CHAIRMAN". The Sun. No. 7772. New South Wales, Australia. 28 November 1934. p. 4 (LAST RACE EDITION). Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SIR SAMUEL HORDEN [sic] AND SISTER DEAD". The Central Queensland Herald. Vol. 22, no. 1973. Queensland, Australia. 7 June 1956. p. 17. Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.