Simeon Lord
Encyclopedia
Simeon Lord was a pioneer merchant and a magistrate
in Australia
. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist
Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie
, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business dealings were extensive. He became one of Sydney
's wealthiest men. He was at various times a retailer, auctioneer, sealer, pastoralist, timber merchant and manufacturer. He is mentioned in many Australian History books, in particular regarding his status as an emancipist.
), Yorkshire
, England
, was born about 28 January 1771. In April 1790, as a 19-year-old, he was convicted to 7 years transportation at the Manchester
Quarter Sessions in Lancashire for the theft of 21 pieces of cloth, 100 yards (91 m) of calico and 100 yards (91 m) of muslin. Lord was then transported
to New South Wales
as part of the Third Fleet
on board the Atlantic. He arrived in Sydney
on 20 August 1791, and the convict
lad was assigned to Captain Thomas Rowley of the New South Wales Corps
.
's establishment called The Malting Shovel in 1799. In 1801 it was reported that "Simeon Lord sells rum at 32/- a gallon" ... "these are Governor Kings regulations for the benefit of the Colony while American ships who would be glad to sell their liquor at 5/-, 6/- or 7/- per G. are turned away!". With help from the government like this, it is no wonder that Lord prospered.
In a few years Lord had established a general merchandise and agency business, and in 1800 with a partner purchased a brig
the Anna Josepha. He also became an auctioneer and prospered, a return made in 1804 said that the "estimated value of commercial articles imported from abroad in the hands of Simeon Lord and other dealers was £15,000". Though his position was not comparable with that of Robert Campbell
, it is clear that already he was one of the leading merchants of Sydney. His business was on the site of the corner of Bridge Street and Macquarie Place. In 1807 Governor William Bligh
spoke adversely about his business dealings with the masters of ships, and Judge Field
several years later spoke in a similar way. Aspersions of this kind against members of the emancipist
class at this period must, however, be accepted with caution. No doubt Lord was a keen business man well able to look after his own interests, but he also had enterprise and courage, valuable qualities in the developing colony.
About 1805 Lord began a relationship with Mary Hyde
(1779–1864), a convict who had arrived in Australia in 1798. Mary already had two children from a previous relationship a business associate of Lord's, the deceased privateer
(state-sanctioned pirate) and ship's officer Captain John Black, and Lord became their stepfather. He and Mary went on to have 8 children of their own over the next 15 years.
Also in 1805 Lord went into partnership with Henry Kable
and James Underwood
, but their association ended in legal disputes in the courts of New South Wales, as did many of Lord's ventures. Lord was immensely litigious, and his affairs also took up a large percentage of the early appeals from the Colony of New South Wales to the Privy Council
in England. The records of the Privy Council indicate that his opponents may have had good grounds for arguing that he used the Privy Council as a means of warding off his creditors rather than in a genuine attempt to test the legality of judgments against him. In his partnership with Kable and Underwood he was active in developing the sealing boom at the Antipodes Islands
to the south and east of New Zealand's South Island in 1805 to 1807.
Before Lord had begun his relationship with Mary Hyde
, he had adopted the orphan Joanna Short (1792–1841). Joanna was the orphan of convicts Elizabeth Drury (died 1793) and Joseph Short (died 1795). In 1806 Simeon's adopted daughter, who was no more than 14, married Francis Williams, a business partner of Lord's, and the couple travelled together to London on business for Lord in 1807. On the ship with Joanna he sent Mary Hyde's 6 year old daughter Mary Ann Black into the care of her grandfather Reverend John Black in England.
Lord was engaged in trade with New Zealand
, and in 1809 had the misfortune to lose a valuable cargo of sealskins in the events surrounding the Boyd massacre
. He had chartered the 'Boyd' and sent it to New Zealand to complete its cargo with a consignment of spars. The captain flogged a Māori chief for alleged misbehaviour, and in consequence the vessel was raided and looted, nearly everyone on board being killed. In spite of this disaster Lord joined in an attempt to obtain a monopoly to establish a flax plantation in New Zealand, and manufacture canvas and cordage from it in Sydney. The monopoly was, however, not granted and Lord turned his hands to other things. He employed a man to experiment in dyes and tanning, and was the first to weave with Australian wool. He succeeded in weavings coarse cloths, blankets and stockings and also made hats.
Long before this, in May 1810, Lord was made a magistrate and he became a frequent guest at government house. Governor Lachlan Macquarie
in his dispatch to Viscount Castlereagh
stating his intention to make Lord a magistrate described him as "an opulent merchant". He was, however, a man of little education, and when John Bigge
was making his investigations in 1819-20, the alleged unsuitability of Lord for his position was used as a stick to beat Macquarie. Lord soon afterwards resigned and appears to have been less prosperous in his business for a period.
On 27 October 1814, at St Philip's Church, Sydney
Lord married his partner of many years, Mary Hyde
. The marriage was held when their fifth child was only one week old. A witness to the wedding was William Wentworth
, the son of the family friend D'Arcy Wentworth
.
In the 1820s Lord concentrated on pastoral and manufacturing interests. He also succeeded in compounding a claim for land resumed for public purposes in Sydney, by accepting in 1828 a large grant of land in the country. He did not come into public notice after this.
Lord became a large landholder during his life-time, of both land he purchased himself, and of land grants. Lord's extensive land holdings included land at Petersham
, Botany Bay
and Tasmania
.
Lord died "an immensely wealthy man" at the age of 69 on 29 January 1840 in the family home of "Banks House" at Botany
.
in 1856, and transferred to the legislative council in 1877. G. W. Lord was colonial treasurer in the third Martin
ministry from December 1870 to May 1872. His eldest son Simeon Lord Jnr. (1810–1892) was a pastoralist in Tasmania
and Queensland
. Another son, Francis Lord (1812–1897), was a member of parliament for many years, and a third son, Edward Lord (1814–1884), became city treasurer at Sydney and mayor of St Leonards
. His stepson John Henry Black (1799–1867) later became the first manager of the Bank of New South Wales
. One of his sons-in-law was another successful merchant in Sydney, Prosper de Mestre
(1789–1844) who married his stepdaughter Mary Ann Black
(1801–1861).
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in 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...
. He became a prominent trader in Sydney, buying and selling ship cargoes. Despite being an emancipist
Emancipist
An emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...
Lord was made a magistrate by Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
, and he became a frequent guest at government house. His business dealings were extensive. He became one of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's wealthiest men. He was at various times a retailer, auctioneer, sealer, pastoralist, timber merchant and manufacturer. He is mentioned in many Australian History books, in particular regarding his status as an emancipist.
Background
Lord, the fourth child of ten children of Simeon Lord and Ann Fielden of Dobroyd (near TodmordenTodmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
), Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was born about 28 January 1771. In April 1790, as a 19-year-old, he was convicted to 7 years transportation at the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Quarter Sessions in Lancashire for the theft of 21 pieces of cloth, 100 yards (91 m) of calico and 100 yards (91 m) of muslin. Lord was then transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
as part of the Third Fleet
Third Fleet (Australia)
The Third Fleet consisted of 11 ships which set sail from United Kingdom in February, March and April 1791 bound for the Sydney penal settlement, with over 2000 convicts. The passengers consisted of convicts, military personnel and notable people sent to fill high positions in the colony...
on board the Atlantic. He arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 20 August 1791, and the convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
lad was assigned to Captain Thomas Rowley of the New South Wales Corps
New South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
.
Businessman
Lord developed many business interests in the colony, and became one of Sydney's wealthiest men. Lord's first known business venture was to run a drinking house, and he purchased a license for it in 1798 for £5, after his sentence had expired. The drinking house was documented as being called "The Swan", but when he renewed the license, for a further £5 in 1799, the name was documented as being The Black Swan. Simeon also signed as surety on James SquireJames Squire
James Squire , a convict transported to Australia, is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia at the turn of the 19th century, and is also considered to have founded Australia's first commercial brewery in 1798, though John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making...
's establishment called The Malting Shovel in 1799. In 1801 it was reported that "Simeon Lord sells rum at 32/- a gallon" ... "these are Governor Kings regulations for the benefit of the Colony while American ships who would be glad to sell their liquor at 5/-, 6/- or 7/- per G. are turned away!". With help from the government like this, it is no wonder that Lord prospered.
In a few years Lord had established a general merchandise and agency business, and in 1800 with a partner purchased a brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
the Anna Josepha. He also became an auctioneer and prospered, a return made in 1804 said that the "estimated value of commercial articles imported from abroad in the hands of Simeon Lord and other dealers was £15,000". Though his position was not comparable with that of Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell (1769–1846)
Robert Campbell was a pioneering and leading merchant in Sydney, a land-owner, a pastoralist, a philanthropist, and a politician being a member of the first New South Wales Legislative Council...
, it is clear that already he was one of the leading merchants of Sydney. His business was on the site of the corner of Bridge Street and Macquarie Place. In 1807 Governor William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
spoke adversely about his business dealings with the masters of ships, and Judge Field
Barron Field (author)
Barron Field was an English-born Australian judge and poet.-Early life:Field was the second son of Henry Field, a London surgeon and apothecary, and Esther, née Barron. Barron Field was educated as a barrister and was called to the Inner Temple on 25 June 1814...
several years later spoke in a similar way. Aspersions of this kind against members of the emancipist
Emancipist
An emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...
class at this period must, however, be accepted with caution. No doubt Lord was a keen business man well able to look after his own interests, but he also had enterprise and courage, valuable qualities in the developing colony.
About 1805 Lord began a relationship with Mary Hyde
Mary Hyde
Mary Lord nee Hyde in the period 1855 to 1859 sued the Commissioners of the City of Sydney and won compensation for the sum of over £15,600 for the inundation of her property at Botany.Hyde is noted for her pertinacity...
(1779–1864), a convict who had arrived in Australia in 1798. Mary already had two children from a previous relationship a business associate of Lord's, the deceased privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
(state-sanctioned pirate) and ship's officer Captain John Black, and Lord became their stepfather. He and Mary went on to have 8 children of their own over the next 15 years.
Also in 1805 Lord went into partnership with Henry Kable
Henry Kable
Henry Kable was born in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Kable was known for being a businessman, but was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but the American Revolution meant...
and James Underwood
James Underwood
Professor Sir James Underwood is a British pathologist who was awarded a knighthood for services to medicine in the 2005 New Year honours list.-Early life and education:...
, but their association ended in legal disputes in the courts of New South Wales, as did many of Lord's ventures. Lord was immensely litigious, and his affairs also took up a large percentage of the early appeals from the Colony of New South Wales to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
in England. The records of the Privy Council indicate that his opponents may have had good grounds for arguing that he used the Privy Council as a means of warding off his creditors rather than in a genuine attempt to test the legality of judgments against him. In his partnership with Kable and Underwood he was active in developing the sealing boom at the Antipodes Islands
Antipodes Islands
The Antipodes Islands are inhospitable volcanic islands to the south of—and territorially part of—New Zealand...
to the south and east of New Zealand's South Island in 1805 to 1807.
Before Lord had begun his relationship with Mary Hyde
Mary Hyde
Mary Lord nee Hyde in the period 1855 to 1859 sued the Commissioners of the City of Sydney and won compensation for the sum of over £15,600 for the inundation of her property at Botany.Hyde is noted for her pertinacity...
, he had adopted the orphan Joanna Short (1792–1841). Joanna was the orphan of convicts Elizabeth Drury (died 1793) and Joseph Short (died 1795). In 1806 Simeon's adopted daughter, who was no more than 14, married Francis Williams, a business partner of Lord's, and the couple travelled together to London on business for Lord in 1807. On the ship with Joanna he sent Mary Hyde's 6 year old daughter Mary Ann Black into the care of her grandfather Reverend John Black in England.
Lord was engaged in trade with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and in 1809 had the misfortune to lose a valuable cargo of sealskins in the events surrounding the Boyd massacre
Boyd massacre
The Boyd Massacre took place in 1809 when Māori residents of Whangaroa Harbour in northern New Zealand killed and ate between 66 and 70 people as revenge for the whipping of a young Māori chief by the crew of the sailing ship Boyd...
. He had chartered the 'Boyd' and sent it to New Zealand to complete its cargo with a consignment of spars. The captain flogged a Māori chief for alleged misbehaviour, and in consequence the vessel was raided and looted, nearly everyone on board being killed. In spite of this disaster Lord joined in an attempt to obtain a monopoly to establish a flax plantation in New Zealand, and manufacture canvas and cordage from it in Sydney. The monopoly was, however, not granted and Lord turned his hands to other things. He employed a man to experiment in dyes and tanning, and was the first to weave with Australian wool. He succeeded in weavings coarse cloths, blankets and stockings and also made hats.
Long before this, in May 1810, Lord was made a magistrate and he became a frequent guest at government house. Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
in his dispatch to Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC , usually known as Lord CastlereaghThe name Castlereagh derives from the baronies of Castlereagh and Ards, in which the manors of Newtownards and Comber were located...
stating his intention to make Lord a magistrate described him as "an opulent merchant". He was, however, a man of little education, and when John Bigge
John Bigge
John Thomas Bigge was an English judge and royal commissioner.Bigge was born at Benton House, Northumberland, England, the second son of Thomas Charles Bigge, High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1771...
was making his investigations in 1819-20, the alleged unsuitability of Lord for his position was used as a stick to beat Macquarie. Lord soon afterwards resigned and appears to have been less prosperous in his business for a period.
On 27 October 1814, at St Philip's Church, Sydney
St Philip's Church, Sydney
St Philip's Church, Sydney is the oldest Anglican church parish in Australia. The church is located in the Sydney CBD, between York Street, Clarence and Jamison Streets on a location known as Church Hill. St Philip's is part of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia...
Lord married his partner of many years, Mary Hyde
Mary Hyde
Mary Lord nee Hyde in the period 1855 to 1859 sued the Commissioners of the City of Sydney and won compensation for the sum of over £15,600 for the inundation of her property at Botany.Hyde is noted for her pertinacity...
. The marriage was held when their fifth child was only one week old. A witness to the wedding was William Wentworth
William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...
, the son of the family friend D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth
D'Arcy Wentworth was born in Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland and emigrated to Australia as an assistant surgeon to then-new colony of Sydney.- Emigration to Australia :...
.
In the 1820s Lord concentrated on pastoral and manufacturing interests. He also succeeded in compounding a claim for land resumed for public purposes in Sydney, by accepting in 1828 a large grant of land in the country. He did not come into public notice after this.
Lord became a large landholder during his life-time, of both land he purchased himself, and of land grants. Lord's extensive land holdings included land at Petersham
Petersham
Petersham is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the River...
, Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
.
Lord died "an immensely wealthy man" at the age of 69 on 29 January 1840 in the family home of "Banks House" at Botany
Botany, New South Wales
Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Botany is located 10 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the City of Botany Bay....
.
Legacy
Lord's sons also became well-known in public life. One of them, George William Lord (1818–1880), a pastoralist, was elected to the first New South Wales Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
in 1856, and transferred to the legislative council in 1877. G. W. Lord was colonial treasurer in the third Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
ministry from December 1870 to May 1872. His eldest son Simeon Lord Jnr. (1810–1892) was a pastoralist in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Another son, Francis Lord (1812–1897), was a member of parliament for many years, and a third son, Edward Lord (1814–1884), became city treasurer at Sydney and mayor of St Leonards
St Leonards, New South Wales
St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Leonards is located 5 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of Municipality of Lane Cove, North Sydney Council and the City of...
. His stepson John Henry Black (1799–1867) later became the first manager of the Bank of New South Wales
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
. One of his sons-in-law was another successful merchant in Sydney, Prosper de Mestre
Prosper de Mestre
Prosper de Mestre was a prominent businessman in Sydney from 1818 until near his death in 1844. He was French born, but also a "citizen of the world", who played an important role in the development of commerce and banking in the English Colony of New South Wales. He became a successful merchant...
(1789–1844) who married his stepdaughter Mary Ann Black
Mary Ann Black
Mary Ann de Mestre née Black was the wife of Prosper de Mestre a prominent Sydney businessman in the early 19th century; and the mother of Etienne Livingstone de Mestre the trainer of the racehorse Archer who won the first and second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862, and the foremost Australian...
(1801–1861).