Alfred Edments (17 October 1853 – 13 July 1909) was a merchant and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early life and education

Edments was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of James Edments, a labourer, and his wife Ann, ''née'' Lyons. He had only a primary education and at an early age began to work for a firm of cork merchants.

Career

He left for

at the age of 19 and arrived at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He obtained a position, saved a little money, began working as a peddler in a small way, and then opened a shop in Sydney where he sold goods by auction. Edments went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1888 and started an auction room in

Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and t ...

. He also for a short period was a

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, attending only the principal meetings, but found this did not suit his health and soon gave it up. He also gave up having auctions and opened a shop selling watches, clocks and fancy goods, which steadily prospered. He visited England in 1892 to arrange for direct buying, and after trying various locations, finally settled his place of business at 309-311 Bourke Street, Melbourne, in 1895. The business grew and Edments began to open branches in the suburbs and in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He kept a close watch on every detail, thoroughly trained his staff, and treated them with great consideration.

Employee management

Every employee had a fortnight's holiday on full pay, and when ill, Edments continued to pay their salaries and often their medical fees.

Legacy

He himself worked very hard and his health began to cause anxiety when he was only in his early forties. He paid frequent visits to England and in 1898 opened a London office. For the last six months of his life he was compelled to manage his business from his home. Edments died at Melbourne on 13 July 1909 of heart disease. He married but had no children. At his death left a large proportion of his considerable fortune to charity via the Alfred Edments Trust. This in 1940 amounted to about £150,000 and about £6000 is distributed every year. The rest of his fortune was left to his niece E Dench who had no children and left her fortune at her death to Ewen Middlemiss estimated at the time to be $20 million.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edments, Alfred 1853 births 1909 deaths Australian philanthropists 19th-century philanthropists 19th-century Australian businesspeople