Charles Willcox (15 September 1843 – 7 September 1921) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was Mayor of Adelaide from 1892 to 1894, was briefly a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

for

Gumeracha Gumeracha ( ) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha ...

in 1896, and was a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

for North-Eastern District from 1897 to 1902.

Early years

He was born at

Burrowbridge Burrowbridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Parrett and A361 road in the Somerset West and Taunton district, on the edge of the Somerset Levels. It is located south east of Bridgwater, and has a popula ...

on the

River Parrett The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to it ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, where he was educated, before sailing to South Australia in 1863 in the ''Adamant'' at the age of 18. For a time he resided in the south-east of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and worked on the land, then for the wholesale merchants Goode Brothers in Adelaide.

Businessman

In 1873 he joined with one William Gilbert to form Gilbert, Willcox and Co., hay and corn merchants in Tynte Street, North Adelaide. Ten years later he bought out Gilbert and continued business as Charles Willcox and Co. then bought into and took over several other businesses. In 1886, he and W. Everard bought the Payneham and Paradise Tram Company then in 1896 the Goodwood and Clarence Park tramways. These were taken over by the Government to form the

Municipal Tramways Trust The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established by the Government of South Australia in December 1906 to purchase all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide, Australia. The Trust subsequently also ran petrol and diesel buses and electric t ...

for the purpose of electrification. He was a director of several steamship companies which were taken over around 1915 by

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

, of which he was to remain a director until he died. Around 1886 he helped Job Hallett found the brickmaking firm that in 1904 became J. Hallett and Son. In 1901 he took over the produce firm of W. Thyer and Co. and continued trading as Thyer, Willcox and Co. He also had interests in farming at Mallala and

Two Wells Two Wells is a town approximately north of the Adelaide city centre in South Australia adjacent to Port Wakefield Road and passed by the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The first settlers in the area used two aboriginal wells in the area a ...

, fruit-growing at Renmark and Berri, the Terowie Mill, the Adelaide (Queen Victoria) Jubilee Exhibition of 1887, the YMCA, the North Adelaide Institute, and John Hill & Co.

Politician

He was elected to the Adelaide City Council for the Robe ward in 1882, became alderman, and was elected mayor by the narrowest of majorities against alderman Sketheway in 1892, a position he held for two years. He was elected to the

in the seat of Gumeracha, but resigned after objections that he was a government contractor. In 1896 he was elected to North-Eastern District for the Legislative Council.

Family and community

He helped found the Adelaide

Y.M.C.A. YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, of which he was for many years a committee member, also of the Royal Institute for the Blind and Home for Incurables. He was also a prominent member of the Tynte Street Baptist Church. He married twice and was survived by a widow, six sons and five daughters. *His eldest son, Frank May Willcox (d. 6 September 1946) was a prominent medical practitioner who trained and practised in both

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and Adelaide. *Mr. S. Willcox lived at

*Alan May Willcox of Two Wells and Salisbury. *H.G. Willcox of Robe Terrace,

Medindie Medindie (formerly also known as Medindee or Medindi) is an inner northern suburb of Adelaide the capital of South Australia. It is located adjacent to the Adelaide Park Lands, just north of North Adelaide, and is bounded by Robe Terrace to the ...

was at one time a director of the Littlehampton Brick Co. Ltd. *Percy Howard Willcox lived at

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

and Medindie. *Charles Angas Willcox lived at

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

The surviving daughters were: *Mrs. G. Hillman of

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

*Mrs. R.W. Thomas of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

*Mrs. Malcolm P. Reid of Toorak *Miss Patrica Kathleen Murie Willcox of Prospect and

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 ...

*Miss Irene Phyllis Willcox of Fitzroy and London

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willcox, Charles 1844 births 1921 deaths Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Mayors and Lord Mayors of Adelaide People from Somerset YMCA leaders