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Vaiben Solomon

This article is about the pastoralist of New South Wales. For the businessman and politician of South Australian and the Northern Territory, see Vaiben Louis Solomon.

Vaiben Solomon (abt 1800 – 21 June 1860) was a Jewish-English convict who, with his brother Emanuel Solomon, was transported for larceny to New South Wales in 1818.[1][2] Despite further brushes with the law, Solomon and his brother seized business opportunities and became prosperous Sydney merchants. The brothers were later joined by more of their siblings, and became patriarchs of a family line that would go onto make its mark on Australia business and politics, particularly in New South Wales and South Australia.[1]

Early life and transportation

Vaiben was born in 1798, the son of Samuel Moss Solomon, a London pencil maker.[3]

On the evening of 16 October 1816, Vaiben and his brother Emanuel Solomon were arrested at a boarding house in Northallerton, Yorkshire. They were charge with breaking and entering and stealing clothing[3] from the house of Thomas Prest.[4] They were committed for trial at the Durham Assizes, which took place on 4 August 1817.[2] They were found guilty of larceny and sentenced to transportation for seven years.[1][2][4][5]

The brothers were transported to Australia on the Lady Castlereagh[1] in mid-December 1817. The ship first arrived at Port Jackson on 30 April 1818,[3] where 39 prisoners were unloaded and the remaining 261,[citation needed] including the Solomon brothers, were taken to Van Diemens Land.[3][5]

The two brothers did not prove to be model prisoners and, after committing a further theft of clothes, they were sentenced on 3 March 1821 to the penal settlement at Newcastle, New South Wales for three years.[5] The brothers received their certificates of release in August 1824.[1][3][5]

Career

By 1826, Vaiben had gone into business. In July 1826, he wrote to the authorities to ask that the convict David Myers be assigned to him at his business in King Street, Sydney.[3]

By 1828,[3] Vaiben and Emmanual were in business at 74 George Street as general merchants and auctioneers.[2][3][6][7] The brothers continued in partnership for over ten years, for a time acting as agents for the ship Nereus. Emanuel moved to Adelaide and acted as agents for both brothers. The pair owned the brig Dorset,[1] which ferried goods and passengers between the two cities. They built the Queen's Theatre, Adelaide in 1840,[1] however, the theatre, 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.[8] In 1844, Emanuel made his way to Sydney and the brothers dissolved their partnership.[9] Emanuel would go into the mining business with their nephew, Judah Moss Solomon, and become very wealthy.

Horningsea Park, restored and
now heritage-listed

While Vaiben was not as prosperous, he was still significantly wealthy. During his life, Vaiben accumulated a considerable portfolio of properties.[10][11] In 1831, Vaiben bought into the Jamieson subdivision and, in 1836, he opened a tailoring establishment in George Street and purchased 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land in Brighton.

Together with his sons David, Abraham and Saul, they formed the partnership "V. Solomon and Sons". In 1855, they purchased a 500 acres (200 ha) estate "Horningsea", near Liverpool, New South Wales, with a grand but somewhat dilapidated[12] mansion, which they renamed Horningsea Park. Vaiben and his family lived at Horningsea Park and ran the farm.

Vaiben withdrew from the partnership with his sons in April 1857. His sons continued as D., A. & S. Solomon[13] and subsequently left the district in 1872.

Personal life

Solomon married Mary "Sarah"[14] Smith (c. 1809 – 18 May 1879) in 1826.[3] Among their children was Hannah Alexandra Solomon (c. 1840–1929). Hannah married Louis Alexander, a man some 30 years her junior and, despite their divorced in 1907 due to his infidelity, he sued her for continuation of his £200 p.a. allowance.[15] Wealthy and eccentric, her £80,000 will ($10–20 million in today's money) was contested by nephew Edwin Solomon and widely (and sensationally) reported.[16]

Solomon's grandson, Lance Vaiben Solomon was a noted painter. Solomon's nephew and Emanuel's son, Vaiben Louis Solomon, became Premier of South Australia.[2]

Death

Solomon died at his home at Horningsea Park on 21 June 1860.[17] He was survived by his wife.[14]

Legacy

Solomon and his family contributed to the building of the first synagogue in Sydney.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g State Library of South Australia. D 7922(L) Business Letter-book of Emanuel Solomon, 1840–1846. Transcribed by Ernest Roe, 2008, and edited with explanatory notes by Kathy Hurley, 2014. Volunteers at the State Library of South Australia. "The brothers, Emanuel and Vaiben Solomon, arrived in New South Wales from England (via Van Diemen’s Land) as teenage convicts in 1818 aboard Lady Castlereagh, having been sentenced to 7 years transportation for larceny. Upon receiving their Certificates of Release in 1824, they settled in the Colony and went into business in George Street, Sydney as general merchants and auctioneers. By the late 1820s both had married, accumulated property and become solidly established as respectable citizens."
  2. ^ a b c d e Richards, Eric, "Emanuel Solomon (1800–1873)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 27 April 2025
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Levi, John S. (2006). These Are the Names : Jewish Lives in Australia, 1788-1850. Melbourne University Publishing.
  4. ^ a b Jewish Museum of Australia. Calling Australia Home: Teacher's Resource. St Kilda, VIC: Jewish Museum of Australia, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "Biography - Vaiben Solomon - People Australia". peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Domestic Intelligence". Sydney Monitor. 27 June 1832. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  7. ^ "CITY OF SYDNEY: List of Citizens in Bourke Ward". Australian. 9 September 1842. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  8. ^ Richards, E. S. (1975). "The fall and rise of the brothers Solomon". Journal of Proceedings of the Australian Jewish History Society. VIII (2): 1–28.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Advertising". The Australian. Sydney. 4 April 1844. p. 1. Retrieved 18 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Mercantile and Money Article". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 1872. p. 5. Retrieved 15 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "NOTICE UNDER REAL PROPERTY ACT". New South Wales Government Gazette. 19 June 1866. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Advertising". The Empire. Sydney. 30 November 1853. p. 7. Retrieved 18 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 April 1857. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ a b "ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION". New South Wales Government Gazette. 13 July 1860. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  15. ^ ""A Matter of Money" May and December". The Singleton Argus. NSW. 10 December 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 12 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Amazing Will Case". The Truth. Sydney. 22 March 1931. p. 13. Retrieved 18 January 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Family Notices". South Australian Weekly Chronicle. 23 June 1860. Retrieved 27 April 2025.

Bibliography

  • Solomon, David (November 2007). The crime and punishment of Emanuel and Vaiben Solomon. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  • Richards, E. S. (1975) The fall and rise of the brothers Solomon Journal of Proceedings of the Australian Jewish History Society, Vol VIII, Part 2, pp. 1–28.
  • Levi, J. S. and Bergman, G. F. J. (1974) Australian genesis – Jewish convicts and settlers 1778–1850 London: Robert Hale and Company, 360 pp.
  • Levi, J. S. (1976) The forefathers – a dictionary of biography of the Jews of Australia (1788–1830)