A Romance of Empire.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 4 (Supplement)

A Romance of Empire.

Gore, son of Mr John Gore, of the firm of John Gore and Co., of London. 1 founded the house which has made his ’ name a household word in Australasia. The new finn was established as ’ Dalgety, Gore and Co., and found its ' earliest field of operations in that 5 great branch of Australian industry 1 with which the name of Dalgety has ’ ever since been peculiarly associated, and with which its dealings are to this * day chiefly concerned, namely, tim 1 wool trade. At this time and for long afterwards, banking facilities in Australia were, to put it mildly, not what ' they are to-day, and as a consequence the firm, in its capacity as agent foi the squatters, was obliged to undertake the triple duty of selling their wool, forwarding them their supplies of necessaries, and acting generally as their bankers and financial representatives. In this way orders drawn upon the firm by the squatter would circulate in the “bush” just as bank notes I do to-day, except for the occasional deduction of a small discount on conversion into hard cash. All of which throws a curious light on business methods in these early days. THE GOLDEN ERA. Successful as the firm was in its early transactions in wool and other merchandise, it was not until the famous days of the “gold fever” m Victoria that Mr Dalgety and his partners were able to lav tho foundation of that substantial fortune which so rapidly carried their operations not only throughout Australasia but to all parts of tbe world. In these daysagain owing to the absence or inadequacy of banking facilities—it was the custom of the miners to dispose of their “dust” and “nuggets” to firms ■ of recognised wealth and character, by whom tbe gold was paid for and shipped to London in payment for goods received by them. The first purchasers of gold in Mr DaVefv’.s interest were his partners, Messrs Burnett and Ibhotson, during his absence in Fun-land in I 8 . 1;?. THE ESTA-RT,T=stmfxT IN LONDON About this time Mr Pni-s rptireu from the firm, and in I*."?? Mr Burnett died. Mr Dalgetv, looking about for new partners, then pronospd to Mr Frederick A. Du Croz. of tbe firm of William Jackson and Co., at Launceston. Tasmania, that be should iofn him. Mr Du Croz, who broun-ht with him a large connection and an excellent business, consented, stipulating only that he should be the superior in Australia, that Mr Cruiksbank, who had a pastoral clientele in connection 1 with W. Jackson and Co., should he the 1 Melbourne renresentative. and Mr 1 Jackson himself head of the firm n London. This was arranged, hut for < some reason Mr JaeFson declined 'o ’ complete the scheme.

THE FOUNDER OF THE HOUSE. In tho year 1833, a boy of sixteen landed in Sydney (.New South Wales,), atLer a voyage iroin England, the length of which, and the hardships, must have been in striking contrast to the forty days and floating palaces now at the traveller’s command. Horn of a well-connected Devonshire family, Frederick Gonnerman Dalgety brought with him to Australia a valuable capital in the shape of native British ' energy, pluck, and hrain-power. This he was not long in investing to the best advantage, putting it out to such good purpose that his name to-day is a name to conjure with throughout the length and breadth of Australasia. But we must not anticipate. It is well to realise at the outset all that is implied in the mere date at which the youthful eyes' bf ‘Frederick Dalgety first drank in the beauties of Sydney’s matchless harbour. Think of what New South Wales, of what Australia was at . that time, and of what it has since bepome! To begin with, New South Wales at that time for all practical purposes, was Australia. The great State of Victoria, known then as Port Philip District, was merely a dependency of New South Wales. It only received T its independent status as a colony two years later, in 1835. South Australia, also, as such, did not then exist. Established the next year, in 1834, it was only colonised in 1836. Western Australia also, then four years old as a free colony, was for long afterwards merely a penal settlement. Queensland, again, was then merely the Moreton Bay District, and twenty-six years were destined to pass before it could secure -establishment as a separate and distinct colony. New Zealand, first settled by Europeans in 1814, was only colonised by British emigrants In 1838, and was a mere dependency of New South Wales till 1840. Facts like these give some idea of the primitive political arrangements under the Southern Cross in 1833. ■ After a brief period'as junior clerk in the mercantile house of Montefiore and Co., young Dalgety was appointed manager of a flour company in which the firm bad an interest. This business he conducted successfully for some years, and that fact, taken in conjunction with his extreme youth at the time of his advancement, may be accepted as remarkable testimony to 1 his natural capacity and the confidence 1 his character rapidly inspired. 1 THE COMATENrFMENT AT j MELBOURNE- , ' In or about the year 1843 Mr 1 Dalgety, whose mind was early drawn . to the vast possibilities of tbe Austra- ] lian wool industry, came to Melbourne. < and in conjunction with Mr Harry <

Mr Du Croz, however, found that ho had gone too far to recede, and the term of his old partnership having expired, he agreed to proceed to London with Mr Dalgety, leaving his brother Gervase to take the position of partner in Tasmania. This was in : 1854. On arrival in London, an office was opened by the two gentlemen, and the London firm of Dalgety and Company came into being, with Mr Dalgety and Mr Du Croz as resident partners. THE AUSTRALASIAN BRANCHES. At the time we have now reached —1854 the firm, besides its headquarters in London, had colonial branches iii Melbourne, under the style of Dalgety, Cruikshank and Co. • iii Geelong, under the style of Dalgety, Ibbotson and Co.; and in Launceston, Tasmania, as Du Croz and Co., the iospective resident partners in these cities being Mr Andrew Rose Cruikshank, Mr Charles Ibbotson, and Mr Gervase Bedford Du Croz, brother of Mr Dalgety’s London partner. Three years later—in 1857—Mr Cruikshank, head of the Melbourne business, died, and Mr Dalgety proceeded to that city to find a man worthy to be his successor. This he did in tbe person of Mr James Blackwood, the inspector of the Union Bank of Australia, without reference to

' whom no account of tlio rise and progress of the firm could be complete. Tho style of the Melbourne house now became Dalgety, Blackwood and Co. About this time also—between 1856 and IB6o—branches were established in New Zealand, at Lyttelton and Christchurch, in Canterbury, and at Dunedin, in Otago. These New Zealand branches were distinct from tho older firm, which, however, acted as their correspondents at all points where they had establishments. LONDON, 1859—-1884. Mr Dalgety, who, meanwhile, had returned to London—in lbo9—toon from that time a much less active part in the business, which passed under the general control of Mr F. A. Du Croz, whose position became much more onerous after the establishment of the New Zealand branches. Mr Dalgety, recognising this, agreed tha: Ills shares and those of Mr Du Croz should bo equalised, and the firm ;u the same time became Dalgety, Da Croz and Co., which it remained until its final conversion into a limited liability company in June, 1884. Mr Dalgety, who, in 1859, on his return to England, had purchased the estate of Lockerley Hal], in Hampshire, devoted himself thenceforward to the quiet pleasures and beneficent activities of a country gentleman, although he maintained to tire last a warm |

DALGETY AND COMPANY, LTD. A GREAT BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

interest in the fortunes of his great enterprise in the final capacity cl chairman of the board of directors of the present limited company, a post he held with honour and distinction unt,l his death in 1894. 1884 TO 1902. The leading facts in the history ui the house since its conversion in 100-i into a limited liability company mat bo stated in a few words. lour years previously—in 1880—Mr Edmund I. Doxat had joined tho finn, assuming the chief management in London, n succession to Mr F. A. Du Croz, who wished at that time to be released from the arduous responsibilities oi the position. At about the same time Mr Arthur R. Blackwood, son of M: James Blackwood, was admitted i partner in Melbourne, and a new branch establishment was opened m Sydney and placed under the management of Mr F. H. Moore, who was transferred from the house at Dunedin. In 1884, the date of the conversion of the Company, Mr James Blackwood died, having held the reins of management in Melbourne for more than a quarter of a century. At the London office, Mr Dalgety, as we have seen, continued to reign as chairman of the company, with the Hon. Pascoe C. Glyn as deputy-chairman, and Mr E T Doxat and Mr S. J. Du Crox as

managing directors. On the death of Mr Dalgety in 1594, Mr Doxat became chairman, in addition to his duties as managing director, with Mr Charles Churchill as deputy-chairman. THE COLONIAL BOARDS OF ADVICE. We may turn to a consideration of the chief departments of activity in the great and many-sided business conducted by this remarkable house. Before doing so, however, a word must be said regarding one of tho most distinctive features in the genera! scheme of management. This is tho institution of local boards of advice in the various colonial branches. These were established when the companv was formed, and were rendered necessary by the exigencies of one of the most important departments of tho business. The periodic valuation of securities in properties and stock owned by the company throughout Australasia forms tbe basis of the intricate calculations rendered necessary by the scope of its activities. To meet this difficulty, an elaborated organised system of inspection - and accounts was devised, including, the formation of local boards of advice at the different- centres, whose duty it is to see that such inspection is j properly carried out . and accounts j rendered accurately and regularly to ] the London office. In view, also, of j

the extent to which the prosperiv- of such a business is affected by the reduction in values of all kinds of property and produce, such methods go a long way to explain the ability of the company to show a clean bill of health and an 8 per cent, dividend, which it has done without a break for the past fourteen years, despite all the vagaries of the Australian climate. PASTORAL BUSINESS. Coming now to tho actual commercial operations of the house, we* nom' m the tirst place that wool, which is the chief staple export from Australia, is also a prominent, if not indeed the most prominent feature of the company’s business. ... Tho growth, and present proportions of this, Australia’s leading industry, may be .judged from the fact that while in 1872 the total importation of Australasian wool into Europe and America amounted to 554,000 bales. The figures for the year just closed when the total bales of 'wool offered for sale in Australasia, viz.,- 2.409,281. The size and importance .of the company’s transactions in this department- may be -gauged from the ~ quantity .-- of wool .. . sold by'.-.them during this :ysar. being 396.233 bales; Tho transactions in wool naturally led to ' extensive dealings in other station produce. - Among such, the chief items, are tallow, hides, and

1 sheepskins. Tliimsands of tons cf tallow are sold yearly by the companboth at London sales and oil diree. orders. Good seasons or bad seasons, the company, by the aid of long experience and an admirable system, have been able to record a steady increase year by year in the volume of their business. COMMISSION BUSINESS. Sales of stock and stations throughout Australia and New Zealand have long been an important and lucrative branch of the Company’s business. The various activities grouped mid >r the head of commission business have been greatly increased by the company of recent years. The shipping deportments in the colonial hranch-s are kept busy during the year handling and despatching the wool, cheese, butter. wheat, tallow, and oilier produce for the sale of which the company is responsible. In addition, Messrs Dalgety and Company act as agents for a number of important passenger and freight lines, among these being the "White Star and Aberdeen lines, the steamers of the Ocean (JFlolfc, Bothell) S.N. Co.: the Shaw. Sa.vill and Albion Co. ; the Japanese l’oyal Hail Line; and tile Messageries Maritimes Co. THE TIMARIT. BRANCH. ■ It: is just 24 years ago since the Company commenced business in Timaru in the iorm of an agency of the Christchurch branch, the location being two small rooms in a building opposite the Bank of New Zealand. In 1904 the business was removed to the premises in Stafford Street now occupied by the Bank or Australasia. Alt' Henry Eaton, was appointed sub- ■ manager,..a, position lie idled until his retirement in 1911.‘ In the meantime the Company’s business having: increased considerably, it was found necessary to provide more extensive j accommodation and the site oppo-i'o ; the Bailwav Station was purclm. and tlifi present block of bud.’.: ;, h erected . In 1911 this office was made a branch with Air C. E. Menus, manager, who held control at this centre until his .promotion to a similar capacity at the Company’s Napier Branch in 1910. In that year ho was succeeded by Air E. G. Bnwns’oy uho occupied the manarer's chair mni! Ins retirement on superannuation at me end of April in tins year. Like his predecessors. AU Th'wn-y-v found the stondv growth of the bu -i----noss necessitated increase,l f-nhLre, and a .new wool store capable of holding 2500 hales .was erected on >!>« ■foreshore .raelaimed- land. The of*':, o accommodation was aUo enlarged and. inrorovecl. The present Timaru manager. Air TTorfh T.ovyy. has hem connecter! with the Company since its inception here in 1900.