Edgar Chapman (1831 – 11 September 1886) was a brewer and businessman in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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 ...

, closely associated with the Theatre Royal.

History

James Chapman, a tailor and draper of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, emigrated to South Australia with his wife Mary and their seven children aboard ''Rajah'', arriving at Adelaide in April 1850. He founded a drapery on

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and soc ...

, at that time the premier business strip in the young city. His eldest son Edgar Chapman joined with W. K. Simms in 1865 as Simms & Chapman to operate West End Brewery, which Simms had purchased in 1861. The partnership was dissolved in 1879. Chapman and

Caleb Peacock Caleb Peacock (13 April 1841 – 17 February 1896) was educated at Adelaide Educational Institution, one of J. L. Young's two first students. He was for some time manager of Peacock and Son. He was associated with Beeby and Dunstan, millers an ...

were passengers on the steamer ''Auckland'' when she struck a reef between Cape Conran and Cape Everard, on 27 May 1871. The ship was lost but all aboard were rescued by the ''Macedon''. Chapman invested in commercial property on fashionable Hindley Street. In October 1876 he purchased the Theatre Royal, its hotel and the adjoining shops for £11,000, and lost no time in appointing

George R. Johnson George R. Johnson (October 19, 1929 – September 28, 1973) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Delaware County district from 1967 to 1968 and the 166th district fro ...

architect for a complete rebuild of the theatre. The rebuilt house, costing about £20,000, was opened on 25 March 1878. In 1878, on the eve of the departure of Mr. and Mrs Chapman and their daughters Clara, Emily Fannie and Lily for a European holiday, he was presented by a throng of prominent citizens with a pair of diamond studs valued at £250 (perhaps $50,000 today), the work of

J. M. Wendt Joachim Matthias "J. M." Wendt (26 June 1830 – 7 September 1917) was a silversmith and manufacturing jeweller in the early days of South Australia. Life and career Wendt was born in Itzehoe, a small town in Holstein, then a Danish province, son ...

. While on holiday he booked various acts for Australia, but with James Alison also leased

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

for an Australian production of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

starring

George Rignold George Richard Rignold, born George Richard Rignall, (1839 – 16 December 1912) was an England, English-born actor, active in Britain and Australia. Early life Rignold was born in Birmingham, England. He was the son of William Rignall, an actor ...

, perhaps doing something to refute criticisms by the ''Christian Colonist''. He was for any years owner of Kallioota Station, of , some north of

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

, carrying 10,000 sheep and 800 cattle. Beside the Theatre Royal and Theatre Royal Hotel, other properties owned by Chapman in Hindley street were the Eagle Tavern and shops owned by Burns the tailor, McKenzie, Bristow, and Lipman. His sons Charles E. Chapman and Harry A. Chapman ran Mundowdna Station. They voluntarily declared insolvency in order to be relieved of the debt they owed to their father. He died after three or four years of declining health, and his remains were interred at the

West Terrace Cemetery The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...

. His estate was proved at £59,000 (perhaps $10 million today). His brother Arthur took over management of his estate, which included the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street, though he was acting for Edgar as early as 1883, In January 1885 he had joined Rignold and Allison as lessee and in December they withdrew from the partnership, leaving Chapman as sole manager until

Wybert Reeve Wybert Reeve (c. 1831 – 21 November 1906) was an English actor and impresario, important in the history of the theatre in South Australia. History Reeve was born in London, the only child of well-to-do parents who died when he was around five ...

became lessee in 1887. Arthur Chapman initiated extensive alterations in 1905 at a cost of over £4,000 and a rebuild of the theatre in 1913–1914 at a cost of £21,000.

Other interests

He was appointed Justice of the Peace 1877. He was interested in horse racing; served as a steward at the "Old Course" (

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

). Chapman's affair with the theatre was not only financial. He had a passable singing voice, and "trod the boards" on occasion: In 1880 he played "King Artexomines" in

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

's ''

Bombastes Furioso ''Bombastes Furioso'', subtitled ''A Burlesque Tragic Opera'', was written in 1810 by William Barnes Rhodes (sometimes credited as Thomas Barnes Rhodes). The first authorized printed edition was published in 1822. It is a drama with comic son ...

''. In 1882 he had several landscapes painted to order by H. J. Johnstone.

Family

James Chapman (1804 – 15 June 1879) married Mary Stanford (1804 – September 1895). Their children included: *Stanford Chapman (1829 – 8 October 1905) married Martha Moon ( – 6 August 1912) in London on 9 December 1854. He was admitted to the firm of Virgoe, Son in 1865, became Virgoe, Son & Chapman, of Melbourne and Sydney, lived in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

then

Kew, Victoria Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victor ...

:*Alice Mary Chapman (2 December 1855 – 19 August 1911) married John Donaldson of Victoria :*Horace Marchent Chapman (17 November 1860 – ) :*Edith Annie Chapman (19 December 1863 – ) married William St. Clair ( – ) on 11 December 1889 :*Herbert Henry Chapman (17 January 1868 – 31 January 1912) born in Victoria *Edgar Chapman (1831 – 11 September 1886) married Frances Rachael Kelsh ( – 1890) in 1853 :*Charles Edgar Chapman (1854 – 4 September 1920) married to Margaret Teresa Chapman (c. 1861 – 3 January 1916) :*Clara Mary Chapman (1856 – 25 September 1925) married Clement Ferdinand Vaux Rainsford (c. 1859 – 12 September 1935) in 1882 :*Harry Albert Chapman (1858 – ) sheep farmer with brother C. E. Chapman; insolvent 1883 :*Emma Victoria Chapman (1860 – ) :*Edgar Stanford Chapman (21 March 1862 – 11 November 1872) The lad fell into a vat of hot

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

liquor at the West Terrace brewery, and drowned :*Fanny Emily Chapman (30 September 1863 – 1886) married Edward Headly/Heasley Hallack in 1885, his second wife :*Lily Kate Chapman (23 June 1865 – ) married James Cunningham on 16 April 1890 *Albert Chapman (1834 – 21 June 1902) of Paddington, Sydney *Emma Chapman (1836 – 15 November 1896) * Arthur Chapman (1838 – 8 May 1909) married Sarah Bullock ( – 27 September 1904) in 1863. She was the eldest daughter of John Bullock :*Frederick Arthur Chapman (10 March 1864 – 18 September 1925) of

Lion Brewing and Malting Company Lion Brewing and Malting Company of Jerningham Street, Lower North Adelaide was one of the many breweries which proliferated in Australia in the nineteenth-century. In those days beer was much cheaper than now; the wholesale price was 1/ a gallo ...

::*Stanley Irwin Chapman (1892 –29 September 1940) also of Lion Brewing and Malting Co. :*Laura Simmons Chapman (13 May 1865 – 31 December 1946) married Arthur White ( – 20 June 1943) on 11 December 1901 :*Percy James Chapman (30 December 1866 – 4 January 1946) married Mabel Adelaide Barnfield in 1896 :*Arthur Ernest Chapman (1868 – 20 January 1890) :*Nina Blanche Chapman (1874 – 30 July 1952) married Frederick Charles Sach on 8 November 1911 :*Frank Burley "Jack" Chapman (1877 – 4 March 1917) married Agnes, killed in France, WWI *Mary Chapman (1840–1910) *Louisa Chapman (1844 – 25 September 1883) lived with her mother, King William Street south

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Edgar 1831 births 1886 deaths History of Adelaide Australian theatre owners Australian brewers 19th-century Australian businesspeople Businesspeople from Adelaide Australian people of English descent