Harry Andreas (born Ehenriech Phillip Andreas; 1879–1955) was an Australian businessman and company director. As a big-game fisherman he pioneered the sport in New Zealand. He was the inventor of the Andreas Fortuna Game Fish Reel and is described in the 1935 edition of ''Who's Who in Australia'' as being of "Independent Means".

Birth and education

Harry Andreas was born in Sydney, the first son of Australian-born Hannah (née Denning) and English-born Phillip Ehenriech Andreas. His younger brother, Charles Denning Andreas (18801882), died as an infant. During his childhood, the Andreas family lived in Palace Street,

Petersham, New South Wales Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area ...

. Andreas was educated at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(18911895) where he was a talented sportsman and shot. In 1893, he competed in the Queen's Rifle Shoot at Bisley, England whilst still at Newington.

Sportsman

From his earliest years out of school, Andreas is notable as a sportsman with his activities chronicled by the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' and other newspapers.

Leura and Kirribilli

Leuralla was Andreas's house in

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

. In 1903 a house was built on the current site but was destroyed by bushfire in 1909. Between 1910 and 1914 the present house was built and is a notable example of an early 20th Century holiday residence for a wealthy family. The property is still owned by the family and now houses a toy and railway museum. Andreas also maintained a family residence on Sydney Harbour at Elamang Avenue,

Kirribilli Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administere ...

Inventor and businessman

In 1905, Andreas Applied to the Commonwealth Commissioner of Patents to register his improvements to an acetylene generator. Only 46 of his "Fortuna Reel Andreas Pat. No 123405/18 & 19 Ex Wide" were produced between 1934 and 1936 and one was sold at auction in London on 14 July 2012 for £5,200. His friend and fellow Old Newingtonian, George Harker, was the inventor of a

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

system of extinguishing fires at sea and fumigation and in 1908 when the Harker FIre Extinguisher and Fumlgator Company was formed Andreas became a director.

Royal connections

During the 1927 Royal Tour of

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

, Andreas acted as a fishing guide for The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

. Whilst her parents were fishing with Andreas the young Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) was at home in London but during the 1954 Royal Visit to Australia, Andreas welcomed Her Majesty and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh as guests at Leuralla.

Old Newingtonian

From as early as 1906, Andreas was the Country Vice-president in Leura for the Old Newingtonians' Union (ONU) and he continued to serve in that position until his death in 1955. Andreas presented annually a

Hardy Brothers Hardy Brothers is a specialty retailer and private company of fine jewellery, timepieces and decorative arts in Australia. Its historic products are now highly collectible and are held in state and national collections. It is the only Australi ...

medal to the Newington College boy who was the highest scorer in the

AAGPS The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) is a sporting association of boys' schools in New South Wales, Australia that contest sporting events among themselves. The AAGPS was formed on 30 March 1892, and ...

shooting competition. From 1956 until 1969 the Andreas Medal continued to be presented in his honour by the ONU. In 1994 the Andreas Medal was funded in

perpetuity A perpetuity is an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash payments that continues forever. There are few actual perpetuities in existence. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) government issued them in the past; these were known as conso ...

by his grandchildren.

Family and death

In 1902, Andreas married Alice May Burton, the daughter of William Henry Burton of Leicester, England. The marriage produced two sons and two daughters: Marjorie, Mrs.

Clive Evatt Clive Raleigh Evatt (6 June 1900 – 15 September 1984) was an Australian politician, barrister and raconteur. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1939 until 1959. At various times he sat as a member of the Industr ...

; Phillip Andreas; Lucy, Mrs. Erling Aargaard; and William Andreas. Alice Andreas died, aged 73, in Leura in 1952. Harry Andreas died in Bowral, New South Wales, survived by his four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andreas, Harry 1879 births 1955 deaths People educated at Newington College Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian fishers Sportspeople from Sydney