William Baillieu
Encyclopedia
William Lawrence Baillieu (22 April 1859 – 6 February 1936) was an Australia
n financier and politician. He was a successful businessman, having developed significant business interests from his relatively humble beginnings. He associated with many of the most influential people of his era, and served in the Victorian Legislative Council
for 21 years, including stints as Minister for Works and Health and leader of the Legislative Council. As such, he began the Baillieu family
dynasty, several members of which remain prominent figures in public life today.
in 1859 the second son of James George Baillieu and his wife Emma Lawrence, née Pow, relatively recent immigrants. He was educated at the local state school. He began working as an office boy in the Bank of Victoria at the age of fifteen, and remained with the bank for eleven years. In 1885, he went into partnership with J.D. Munro as auctioneers and estate agents. Two years later, he married Bertha Latham, with whom he would later have three sons and four daughters. The partnership with Munro broke up in 1892 and Baillieu founded his own business as an auctioneer, land agent and finance broker. He made and lost a fortune in the Victorian land boom of the 1890s, but was able to avoid bankruptcy due to a little-known loophole in the insolvency law of the time which was exploited by his solicitor, Theodor Fink. As a result of the loophole, Baillieu was able to clear his debts by paying only a tiny fraction of the sum owed, and was able to escape the stigma of bankruptcy. Despite this hitch, he had developed a reputation as an able and competent financier, and became a director of the Herald and Weekly Times around the turn of the century.
In 1901, Baillieu entered politics, standing for and being elected to the Victorian Legislative Council
as the member for Northern Province. He was a backbencher for several years, but was promoted to the ministry with the ascension of John Murray
as premier, serving as Minister of Public Works and Health. He also served as leader of the Legislative Council until 1917. Baillieu served as an honorary minister in the Murray, Watt
and Peacock
governments before retiring from politics altogether in 1922.
Towards the end of his political career, Baillieu began to take advantage of the need for lead
and zinc
that had been made clear as a result of World War I
. Following up on his involvement in the 1905 founding of Zinc Corporation Ltd.
at the Broken Hill Ore Deposit
in New South Wales, Baillieu worked with W.S. Robinson and Sir Colin Fraser to reorganise the Broken Hill Associated Smelters at Port Pirie
and brought about the formation and development of the Electrolytic Zinc Company in Risdon
, Tasmania
. As a result of this work, he was awarded (jointly with Robinson) the gold medal of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. At the time of his retirement in 1930, Baillieu was a director of the Herald and Weekly Times Limited, the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australia, the Dunlop Rubber Company and Carlton and United Breweries. He was also involved with the prestigious Victoria Golf Club, which he had founded and served as president of for several years.
Baillieu died in London
, England
on 6 February 1936. His own estate at his death was sworn at only sixty-thousand pounds (Australian) although he was reputed to be a millionaire. However, he had made substantial contributions to charity; among other things, he founded the Anzac Hostel in Brighton, Victoria
as a home for permanently disabled ex-soldiers. His descendants have become part of one of Melbourne's wealthiest and most prominent families.
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...
n financier and politician. He was a successful businessman, having developed significant business interests from his relatively humble beginnings. He associated with many of the most influential people of his era, and served in the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
for 21 years, including stints as Minister for Works and Health and leader of the Legislative Council. As such, he began the Baillieu family
Baillieu family
Baillieu may refer to:* Chris Baillieu , rower* Clive Baillieu, 1st Baron Baillieu , businessman and public servant* Kate Baillieu , heiress and activist* Marshall Baillieu , politician...
dynasty, several members of which remain prominent figures in public life today.
Biography
Baillieu was born in Queenscliff, VictoriaQueenscliff, Victoria
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
in 1859 the second son of James George Baillieu and his wife Emma Lawrence, née Pow, relatively recent immigrants. He was educated at the local state school. He began working as an office boy in the Bank of Victoria at the age of fifteen, and remained with the bank for eleven years. In 1885, he went into partnership with J.D. Munro as auctioneers and estate agents. Two years later, he married Bertha Latham, with whom he would later have three sons and four daughters. The partnership with Munro broke up in 1892 and Baillieu founded his own business as an auctioneer, land agent and finance broker. He made and lost a fortune in the Victorian land boom of the 1890s, but was able to avoid bankruptcy due to a little-known loophole in the insolvency law of the time which was exploited by his solicitor, Theodor Fink. As a result of the loophole, Baillieu was able to clear his debts by paying only a tiny fraction of the sum owed, and was able to escape the stigma of bankruptcy. Despite this hitch, he had developed a reputation as an able and competent financier, and became a director of the Herald and Weekly Times around the turn of the century.
In 1901, Baillieu entered politics, standing for and being elected to the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
as the member for Northern Province. He was a backbencher for several years, but was promoted to the ministry with the ascension of John Murray
John Murray (Victorian politician)
John Murray , Australian politician, was the 23rd Premier of Victoria.Murray was born near Koroit, Victoria, the son of James Murray and his wife Isabella, née Gordon, both Scottish immigrants. When Murray was a child his parents settled on a farm, Glenample station, at Port Campbell in the...
as premier, serving as Minister of Public Works and Health. He also served as leader of the Legislative Council until 1917. Baillieu served as an honorary minister in the Murray, Watt
William Watt
William Alexander Watt PC was an Australian politician who was the 24th Premier of Victoria, and later a leading federal politician and Speaker of the House of Representatives....
and Peacock
Alexander Peacock
Sir Alexander James Peacock, KCMG , Australian politician, was the 20th Premier of Victoria.Peacock was born of Scottish descent at Creswick, the first Victorian Premier born after the gold rush of the 1850s and the attainment of self-government in Victoria. He was distantly related to the family...
governments before retiring from politics altogether in 1922.
Towards the end of his political career, Baillieu began to take advantage of the need for lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
that had been made clear as a result of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Following up on his involvement in the 1905 founding of Zinc Corporation Ltd.
Consolidated Zinc
Consolidated Zinc was an Australian mining company from 1905 to 1962. The company's initial operations focused on extracting zinc from mine tailings of the Broken Hill Ore Deposit at Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia...
at the Broken Hill Ore Deposit
Broken Hill Ore Deposit
The Broken Hill Ore Deposit is located underneath Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Australia, and is the namesake for the town. It is arguably the world's richest and largest zinc-lead ore deposit.- Discovery :...
in New South Wales, Baillieu worked with W.S. Robinson and Sir Colin Fraser to reorganise the Broken Hill Associated Smelters at Port Pirie
Port Pirie, South Australia
-Transport:Port Pirie is located off National Highway One. It is serviced by an airport five minutes out of the city.- Railways :The first railways in Port Pirie were of the narrow [3' 6"] gauge....
and brought about the formation and development of the Electrolytic Zinc Company in Risdon
Risdon, Tasmania
Risdon is a suburb of Hobart, capital city of Tasmania, Australia. It is west of Risdon Vale. Eucalyptus risdonii is native to this location, and is the emblem of Geilston Bay High School....
, 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...
. As a result of this work, he was awarded (jointly with Robinson) the gold medal of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. At the time of his retirement in 1930, Baillieu was a director of the Herald and Weekly Times Limited, the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australia, the Dunlop Rubber Company and Carlton and United Breweries. He was also involved with the prestigious Victoria Golf Club, which he had founded and served as president of for several years.
Baillieu died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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...
on 6 February 1936. His own estate at his death was sworn at only sixty-thousand pounds (Australian) although he was reputed to be a millionaire. However, he had made substantial contributions to charity; among other things, he founded the Anzac Hostel in Brighton, Victoria
Brighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
as a home for permanently disabled ex-soldiers. His descendants have become part of one of Melbourne's wealthiest and most prominent families.