Peter Waite
Encyclopedia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n pastoralist, businessman, company director and public benefactor. Waite's philanthropic endeavors provided significant benefit to the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
and to local public schools, and generations of students have benefited from his largesse.
Career
Waite was born at KirkcaldyKirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, son of James Waite, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, née Stocks. Waite was left fatherless and after leaving school he was apprenticed to an ironmonger and spent nine years in commercial pursuits. Waite then sailed to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
aboard the British Trident, landed at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and went on to South Australia. There he joined his brother James who was part owner of Pandappa station near Terowie
Terowie, South Australia
Terowie is a small town in the mid-north of South Australia located north of Adelaide. It is located in the Regional Council of Goyder. Terowie retains a number of authentic and well preserved 1880s buildings, and has been declared a "historic town". It also remains a town of interest to those...
. Waite worked on this station for some years and acquired a thorough knowledge of the pastoral industry. Waite then (in conjunction with Sir Thomas Elder
Thomas Elder
Sir Thomas Elder GCMG was a Scottish-Australian pastoralist, highly successful businessman, philanthropist, politician, race-horse owner and breeder and public figure...
) bought Paratoo station, and gradually obtained interests in other properties. He was one of the first to realize the value of fenced as against open runs, and spent over £200,000 in fencing and providing water.
On 21 November 1864 Waite married his first cousin Matilda Methuen (d.1922), a daughter of James Methuen of Leith, Scotland. Together they had eight children. For many years he lived in the country and kept a strict eye on the management of his various properties. Later he was able to hand over much of this management to his son, while he conducted business in Adelaide. He thoroughly understood the needs of pastoralists, and in 1883 became chairman of Elder's Wool & Produce Co. Ltd, a subsidiary Elder Smith and Company. In 1888 the two companies were amalgamated and he became chairman of directors of Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, "displaying remarkable ingenuity and initiative". He held this position for 34 years, resigning a few months before his death. Waite was also Managing Director of the Beltana Pastoral Co. Ltd and the Mutooroo Pastoral Co. Ltd. He held directorships with the Commercial Union Assurance Co. Ltd, the British Broken Hill Co. Ltd, and the S.A. Woollen Co. Ltd.
Philanthropic deeds
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
his valuable Urrbrae estate comprising 134 acres (54.2 ha) and house, to which in 1915 was added the adjoining Claremont and Netherby estates of 165 acres (66.8 ha). Benefactions to the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
allowed the university to establish the Waite Agricultural Research Institute which later became the Waite Campus of the university, the hub of the Waite Research Precinct. The Waite Institute was established on the site in 1924.
The donation remains one of the largest public benefactions in South Australian history. The objective of the bequest was to advance the cause of education, and more especially, to promote the teaching and study of agriculture, forestry and other related subjects. The Waite Institute has developed into an integrated research and teaching precinct that has been presented as a model for the collocation of agricultural research institutions.
Waite also gave an adjoining estate of 114 acres (46.1 ha) to the government of South Australia for the purpose of founding an agricultural high school: Urrbrae Agricultural High School
Urrbrae Agricultural High School
Urrbrae Agricultural High School is a public high school in the state of South Australia, with approximately 1,058 students. The school is located in the Adelaide suburb of Netherby, about south-east of the Adelaide city centre...
. Waite was working until a few months before his death from heart failure on 4 April 1922; he was survived by his wife, son and three daughters. One of his daughters, Elizabeth Macmeikan (died 5 April 1931), left the residue of her estate, some £16,000, to the University of Adelaide to be used for the study of sciences relating to the land, either in connexion with the Waite Research Institute or otherwise.
External links
- Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide