Lionel Samson (1799-15 March 1878) was an early Swan River Colony settler and businessman whose firm, Lionel Samson & Son, is the second oldest continuing family business in Australia. It is likely his father was Michael Samson, "a member of one of the old established and wealthy families of English Jewry", according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography. After studying at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and being a member of the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

he emigrated to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Samson arrived at Fremantle in 1829 on the '' Calista'' and soon set up business as a wine and spirit merchant, importer, and

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition exi ...

. He also engaged in whaling. He purchased Fremantle town lots 27 and 28 in the first state land sale. He was

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from 1830 to 1832. In 1835 he obtained the state's first liquor license. In 1842 he returned to Britain and married Frances Levi. They had six children: three sons and three daughters. Samson was a member of the

Fremantle Town Trust The City of Fremantle is a local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History The City of Fremantle is named after Charles Frem ...

and a nominee in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

in 1849–56 and 1859–68. Lionel Samson & Son's interests include wholesale liquor distribution, vineyards, and winemaking, woven bulk bags for industrial use and industrial packaging. It also owns Sadleirs Transport, a national transport and freight forwarding company. Lionel Samson Building, in Cliff Street, Fremantle, is on the Heritage Council of Western Australia's Places Database. Two of Samson's sons became mayors of Fremantle: William Frederick Samson (1892–1893) and Michael Samson (1905–1907). In addition, his grandson Sir Frederick Samson was mayor of Fremantle from 1951 to 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Lionel Australian auctioneers English emigrants to Australia 1799 births 1878 deaths Australian Jews Burials at Fremantle Cemetery Australian people in whaling 19th-century Australian businesspeople Settlers of Western Australia

See also

References