Name Vaiben Solomon Succeeded by Frederick Holder Party Free Trade Party | Role Member of Parliament | |
 | ||
Died October 20, 1908, Adelaide, Australia | ||
Education Scotch College, Melbourne | ||
Vaiben Solomon (1802 – 21 June 1860) was a London Jew who was, with his brother Emanuel Solomon, transported for larceny to New South Wales in 1818. He had further brushes with the law but seized business opportunities and became quite prosperous. He and his brother were then joined by a contingent of brothers and sisters who made their mark in New South Wales and South Australian business and politics.
Contents
Early life, crime and punishment
Vaiben and his brother Emanuel Solomon were arrested at a boarding house in Northallerton on the evening of 16 October 1816, charged with having broken into a farm house and stealing a quantity of clothing, the property of Thomas Prest, some of which they had already sold. They were subsequently committed for trial at the Durham Assizes, which took place on 6 August 1817. They were found guilty of theft, but not of breaking and entering (which was then a capital offence) and sentenced to transportation for seven years. They were taken away to Woolwich, where they were incarcerated in a hulk named Justitia moored in the River Thames. They were taken aboard the Lady Castlereagh which around mid-December 1817 set sail for Australia, arriving at Port Jackson on 30 April 1818. Governor Macquarie would only allow thirty-nine prisoners to disembark, and ordered the captain to take the remaining 261 to Van Diemens Land, compensating the ship's owners for the change of plans. The two Solomon boys, who were among the latter contingent, were not model prisoners, and after committing a theft of clothes were on 3 March 1821 sent in irons to Newcastle, New South Wales for three years, shortly before its dismemberment as a penal settlement. The boys received their Certificates of Release in Sydney in August 1824.
Prosperity
The means by which Emanuel and Vaiben made their way from poor emancipists to relative affluence is by no means clear but must have been by a series of small-time trading and gradual accretion. But by July 1826 he was in a position to begin employing labour, having written to the authorities to have the convict David Myers assigned to him at his business in King Street, Sydney. By 1928 he had premises to let at 74 George Street, which may have fallen through, as the following year the two brothers were in partnership at that same address. They continued in partnership for over ten years, buying and selling whenever they could see a financial advantage. In 1831 Vaiben bought into the Jamieson subdivision.
In 1836 he opened a tailoring establishment in George Street, and in September that year purchased 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land in Brighton. He maintained the partnership with his brother Emanuel, for a time acting as agents for the ship Nereus, and when Emanuel moved to Adelaide, acting as agents for each other. They owned the brig Dorset, which ferried goods and passengers between the two cities, often making the return trip in 30 days. They built the Queen's Theatre, Adelaide in 1840, just in time for the Depression brought about by Governor Grey's financial stringency following Governor Gawler's profligacy. The theatre, managed by John Lazar, folded after a year. As trade between the two colonies dried up, and with increased competition from rival brig Emma, relations between the two brothers became strained, Emanuel accusing Vaiben of insufficient zeal and lack of communication. In 1844 Emanuel made it to Sydney to confront Vaiben; they dissolved partnership. Coincidentally, and largely due to the opening of copper mines in Burra and Kapunda, the economy of South Australia rebounded and Emanuel, who had by virtue of the strictest economy, retained most of his assets, profited hugely in partnership with his young nephew Judah Moss Solomon; his shares in the South Australian Mining Association repaid him handsomely.
Vaiben did not reach quite the same peak of wealth and prestige, but he was still hugely wealthy, as evidenced by the wills of his spinster daughters. He and his sons David, Abraham and Saul, in partnership as V. Solomon and Sons, purchased in 1855 the 500 acres (200 ha) estate "Horningsea", near Liverpool, New South Wales, with its grand, but somewhat dilapidated, mansion, and renamed it Horningsea Park. Vaiben and his family lived there and ran the farm. Vaiben withdrew from the partnership in April 1857. His sons continued as D., A. & S. Solomon; they left the district in 1872. During his life Vaiben accumulated a considerable portfolio of properties.
Family
Vaiben married Mary "Sarah" Smith (c. 1809 – 18 May 1879) in 1826. He and some of his family were practising Jews; contributing to the building of the first synagogue in Sydney. Among their children were: