20 April 1882, - Rich Australasians and developments
20 April 1882, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australasian Protectorate
Hieronymous Salvator Lopez von Pereira had been discouraged by the initial results of the sample sent to the assay office. Very little tin, which was the metal they had been looking for. However, there had been traces of lead and silver, so he persisted, forming a syndicate of five to to explore further. It was not until late 1882 that rich quantities of silver were found and The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, latterly known as BHP, was founded. Within a year of discovery, von Pereira had purchased two other share blocks, giving him a 55% share in BHP. By 1888, the richness of the deposits exceeded all other fields, including Zeehan and he was both a multi millionaire and one of the richest men in Australasia.
20 April 1882, Canterbury, New Zealand, Australasian Protectorate
Allan McLean, initially a penurious immigrant from Scotland, had made his money during the Victorian Gold Rush, starting at one, but eventually creating a network of stores that supplied "the diggers" with all manner of items. He was to purchase properties at Canterbury, Otago, and Morven Hills, further benefiting from the sale of the last of the Maori land in the Kiakoura purchase in 1862. Finally, he was to purchase all of Stewart island in 1864. He was one of the initial shareholders in the foundation charter of the bank of New Zealand in 1874, taking a 18% ownership stake. By 1882, he was happy. His properties had a value of 400,000 pounds. In 1890, he owned 135,000 sheep and had 15,000 acres under cultivation, living at 'the Valley', New Zealand's largest homestead, surrounded by gardens.
Although he never married, he left his fortune to his sister's son. He was to inherit an estate valued at 1.5 million pounds in 1907.
20 April 1882, Rockhampton, Capricornia, Australasian Protectorate
William Knox D'Arcy had worked at a silver mine before, so was aware of the exploration and the mining processes. A prudent man, he had saved enough money to make a series of detailed explorations in 1879, with his partners, the Hall brothers and the Morgans. Gold, silver and copper were found in abundance, launching the fortunes of D'Arcy. In 1881, the syndicate became the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company, with D'Arcy a director and the largest shareholder. By 1882, he held 125,000 shares in his own name and 233,000 in trust. The shares reached £17/1s/- each, making his worth more than £6 million. The company brought further gold mines in New Zealand and then again in Swan River, at Kalgoorlie. By the late 1890's, he was the richest man in Australasia, despite the decline in Mount Morgan shares. He was to get even richer, however. In 1900, he was to meet with Antoine Kitabgi Khan at the Paris World Fair, having known the man from copper exports previously to Persia. He agreed to fund a search for oil and minerals in Persia, starting negotiations with the Shah in 1901 via intermediaries. He started with an initial offer of £20,000, for a sixty-year concession to explore for oil and eventually, later that year, it was agreed D'Arcy would have the oil rights to the entire country, the Persian government being given 16% of the oil company's annual profits, if any were made. Drilling and exploration were to go on for a long time and, although copper was found, Darcy was forced to see a partner to defray the costs, the Burmah Oil Company buying a 60% stake in 1906. In July 1908, oil was discovered and D'Arcy became one of the directors and major shareholders of the Anglo- Persian Oil Company, eventually Anglo-Australasian Petroleum(AAP)
20 April 1882, Launceston, Tasmania, Australasian Protectorate
Anthony Edwin Bowes Kelly was born in Ireland, moving to Australasia in 1854. He became manager of Billilla Station on the Darling River near Wilcannia about 1873 and was eventually a partner. About 1879 he joined a Melbourne syndicate speculating in land around the Paroo River and made the basis of his fortune. bought a one-tenth share in the new Broken Hill mine. The share had belonged to James Poole, who had swapped his share for five bullocks. Darcy purchased in 1881 for 150 pounds. By 1892, it was worth 2.2 million.
In 1883, In 1891, Kelly saw an advertisement in his local newspaper from a fellow Irishman, Mr James Crotty, who was seeking an investor for his gold mine at Iron Blow in Tasmania, requiring 18,000 pounds. James Crotty could anyone willing to put 18,000 pounds into his mine. An enterprising man, Kelly negotiated the price to a much lower sum and a desperate James Crotty was forced to accept. He signed a contract that put Kelly in charge of the operation. And so, in 1886, the Mt Lyell Mining Company was formed, with Kelly at the helm. Kelly had the samples from the Iron Blow analysed in Broken Hill. The future was not paved with gold, but with copper. While the gold reserves at Iron Blow were diminishing, Bowes Kelly had discovered the richest copper mine in the entire world. By 1888, the problems with a suitable railway solved, Mt Lyell, known as "copperopolis", was yealding unprecedented returns.
20 April 1882, Hobart, Tasmania, Australasian Protectorate
George Adams emigrated to Australasia in 1855 from England, settling in Capricornia. He was a miner, stock trader, butcher and publican. He moved to Sydney in 1861, joining the fashionable clubs of the city and being seen as a good mixer and 'a man with friends'. George Adams had started running public "sweeps" from his three hotels in 1875. Religious groups opposed gambling and in 1880 convinced the New South Wales government to pass laws prohibiting sweeps. He moved to Queensland, which soon introduced similar legislation, and so in 1881 he had moved his business to Hobart. Now, he was set up. Tasmanian Government had just passed the Suppression of Public Betting and Gaming Act prohibiting betting shops but legalising certain lotteries.
His lotteries were subscribed to all over the Pacific, famous for the one aspect that many others were not - fairness. When the Bank of Van Diemen's Land Ltd., Hobart, went into liquidation in 1891, the directors decided to raffle the bank's assets. George Adams conducted a lottery, with 300,000 tickets at £1 each. The first prize was the bank building itself and the land on which it was built. Second prize was the Orient Hotel, which was owned by the bank. All the other prizes consisted of a long list of bank properties, branches and assets in various places. By 1900, Adams was a multi millionaire.
20 April 1882, Melbourne, Aurelia, Australian Protectorate
Zhang Yang, latterly known as Mabel Yang, arrived in Australasia in 1854. She had been sent to oversee her father's interests, the head of a powerful Tong in China, Yang Fuquing. By 1855, by turns fragile and frightening, she had eliminated all her competitors and stood as the Chinese overseer over all of Victoria(as it was then) goldfields. Miners had their licenses arranged for them by her compatriots, new miners had their passages booked from China and claims arranged for them to work, all, of course, at a cost. Bǎohù fèi, or protection money some called it. Others, more generous, called it, guanxi, or establishing mutually beneficial relationships.
She was then to set up provisioning stores, grog shops and brothels to further separate many Chinese miners from their gold. By 1864, her father had fled to America and Yang decided to move her operation onto a completely legitimate footing, the mining boom having passed in Victoria in any case, with much of her subsequent investments in property or commercial businesses in Chinatown. Sitting on almost five tons of gold, she was to marry in 1869 Hugh Glass jnr, son of Hugh Snr, that in 1862 was reputed to be, at his peak, the richest man in Victoria, worth some £800,000. By 1869, Glass's business empire was on the verge of collapse, with debts nigh on £500,000. All that remained was his suburban land, including the iconic Flemington House, valued in the 1850s at £60,000; with its artificial lake and white swans, its Corinthian colonnaded portico supporting a long balcony, its huge ballroom and its landscaped garden sloping down to the Moonee Ponds Creek, it was the showplace of Melbourne.
After the marriage, it was Hugh Glass jnr who nominally headed the Glass business, interests, but, even after two children, Hugh the 3rd and Anna, it was Mabel Glass that truly ran the family interests. By 1882, the Glass family had retained their property portfolio and diversified into various businesses, once again surging to be one of the richest families in Victoria.
Hieronymous Salvator Lopez von Pereira had been discouraged by the initial results of the sample sent to the assay office. Very little tin, which was the metal they had been looking for. However, there had been traces of lead and silver, so he persisted, forming a syndicate of five to to explore further. It was not until late 1882 that rich quantities of silver were found and The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, latterly known as BHP, was founded. Within a year of discovery, von Pereira had purchased two other share blocks, giving him a 55% share in BHP. By 1888, the richness of the deposits exceeded all other fields, including Zeehan and he was both a multi millionaire and one of the richest men in Australasia.
20 April 1882, Canterbury, New Zealand, Australasian Protectorate
Allan McLean, initially a penurious immigrant from Scotland, had made his money during the Victorian Gold Rush, starting at one, but eventually creating a network of stores that supplied "the diggers" with all manner of items. He was to purchase properties at Canterbury, Otago, and Morven Hills, further benefiting from the sale of the last of the Maori land in the Kiakoura purchase in 1862. Finally, he was to purchase all of Stewart island in 1864. He was one of the initial shareholders in the foundation charter of the bank of New Zealand in 1874, taking a 18% ownership stake. By 1882, he was happy. His properties had a value of 400,000 pounds. In 1890, he owned 135,000 sheep and had 15,000 acres under cultivation, living at 'the Valley', New Zealand's largest homestead, surrounded by gardens.
Although he never married, he left his fortune to his sister's son. He was to inherit an estate valued at 1.5 million pounds in 1907.
20 April 1882, Rockhampton, Capricornia, Australasian Protectorate
William Knox D'Arcy had worked at a silver mine before, so was aware of the exploration and the mining processes. A prudent man, he had saved enough money to make a series of detailed explorations in 1879, with his partners, the Hall brothers and the Morgans. Gold, silver and copper were found in abundance, launching the fortunes of D'Arcy. In 1881, the syndicate became the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company, with D'Arcy a director and the largest shareholder. By 1882, he held 125,000 shares in his own name and 233,000 in trust. The shares reached £17/1s/- each, making his worth more than £6 million. The company brought further gold mines in New Zealand and then again in Swan River, at Kalgoorlie. By the late 1890's, he was the richest man in Australasia, despite the decline in Mount Morgan shares. He was to get even richer, however. In 1900, he was to meet with Antoine Kitabgi Khan at the Paris World Fair, having known the man from copper exports previously to Persia. He agreed to fund a search for oil and minerals in Persia, starting negotiations with the Shah in 1901 via intermediaries. He started with an initial offer of £20,000, for a sixty-year concession to explore for oil and eventually, later that year, it was agreed D'Arcy would have the oil rights to the entire country, the Persian government being given 16% of the oil company's annual profits, if any were made. Drilling and exploration were to go on for a long time and, although copper was found, Darcy was forced to see a partner to defray the costs, the Burmah Oil Company buying a 60% stake in 1906. In July 1908, oil was discovered and D'Arcy became one of the directors and major shareholders of the Anglo- Persian Oil Company, eventually Anglo-Australasian Petroleum(AAP)
20 April 1882, Launceston, Tasmania, Australasian Protectorate
Anthony Edwin Bowes Kelly was born in Ireland, moving to Australasia in 1854. He became manager of Billilla Station on the Darling River near Wilcannia about 1873 and was eventually a partner. About 1879 he joined a Melbourne syndicate speculating in land around the Paroo River and made the basis of his fortune. bought a one-tenth share in the new Broken Hill mine. The share had belonged to James Poole, who had swapped his share for five bullocks. Darcy purchased in 1881 for 150 pounds. By 1892, it was worth 2.2 million.
In 1883, In 1891, Kelly saw an advertisement in his local newspaper from a fellow Irishman, Mr James Crotty, who was seeking an investor for his gold mine at Iron Blow in Tasmania, requiring 18,000 pounds. James Crotty could anyone willing to put 18,000 pounds into his mine. An enterprising man, Kelly negotiated the price to a much lower sum and a desperate James Crotty was forced to accept. He signed a contract that put Kelly in charge of the operation. And so, in 1886, the Mt Lyell Mining Company was formed, with Kelly at the helm. Kelly had the samples from the Iron Blow analysed in Broken Hill. The future was not paved with gold, but with copper. While the gold reserves at Iron Blow were diminishing, Bowes Kelly had discovered the richest copper mine in the entire world. By 1888, the problems with a suitable railway solved, Mt Lyell, known as "copperopolis", was yealding unprecedented returns.
20 April 1882, Hobart, Tasmania, Australasian Protectorate
George Adams emigrated to Australasia in 1855 from England, settling in Capricornia. He was a miner, stock trader, butcher and publican. He moved to Sydney in 1861, joining the fashionable clubs of the city and being seen as a good mixer and 'a man with friends'. George Adams had started running public "sweeps" from his three hotels in 1875. Religious groups opposed gambling and in 1880 convinced the New South Wales government to pass laws prohibiting sweeps. He moved to Queensland, which soon introduced similar legislation, and so in 1881 he had moved his business to Hobart. Now, he was set up. Tasmanian Government had just passed the Suppression of Public Betting and Gaming Act prohibiting betting shops but legalising certain lotteries.
His lotteries were subscribed to all over the Pacific, famous for the one aspect that many others were not - fairness. When the Bank of Van Diemen's Land Ltd., Hobart, went into liquidation in 1891, the directors decided to raffle the bank's assets. George Adams conducted a lottery, with 300,000 tickets at £1 each. The first prize was the bank building itself and the land on which it was built. Second prize was the Orient Hotel, which was owned by the bank. All the other prizes consisted of a long list of bank properties, branches and assets in various places. By 1900, Adams was a multi millionaire.
20 April 1882, Melbourne, Aurelia, Australian Protectorate
Zhang Yang, latterly known as Mabel Yang, arrived in Australasia in 1854. She had been sent to oversee her father's interests, the head of a powerful Tong in China, Yang Fuquing. By 1855, by turns fragile and frightening, she had eliminated all her competitors and stood as the Chinese overseer over all of Victoria(as it was then) goldfields. Miners had their licenses arranged for them by her compatriots, new miners had their passages booked from China and claims arranged for them to work, all, of course, at a cost. Bǎohù fèi, or protection money some called it. Others, more generous, called it, guanxi, or establishing mutually beneficial relationships.
She was then to set up provisioning stores, grog shops and brothels to further separate many Chinese miners from their gold. By 1864, her father had fled to America and Yang decided to move her operation onto a completely legitimate footing, the mining boom having passed in Victoria in any case, with much of her subsequent investments in property or commercial businesses in Chinatown. Sitting on almost five tons of gold, she was to marry in 1869 Hugh Glass jnr, son of Hugh Snr, that in 1862 was reputed to be, at his peak, the richest man in Victoria, worth some £800,000. By 1869, Glass's business empire was on the verge of collapse, with debts nigh on £500,000. All that remained was his suburban land, including the iconic Flemington House, valued in the 1850s at £60,000; with its artificial lake and white swans, its Corinthian colonnaded portico supporting a long balcony, its huge ballroom and its landscaped garden sloping down to the Moonee Ponds Creek, it was the showplace of Melbourne.
After the marriage, it was Hugh Glass jnr who nominally headed the Glass business, interests, but, even after two children, Hugh the 3rd and Anna, it was Mabel Glass that truly ran the family interests. By 1882, the Glass family had retained their property portfolio and diversified into various businesses, once again surging to be one of the richest families in Victoria.
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