Sir Robert Lucas Lucas-Tooth, 1st Baronet (7 December 1844 – 19 February 1915) was an Australian politician. He was born in

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 ...

, the son of Edwin Tooth and Sarah Lucas, and was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He returned to Australia in 1863, joining the family firm and becoming involved in the brewery business. He owned land near Bega. On 2 January 1873, he married Helen Tooth, his first cousin who was a daughter of Frederick

Tooth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

; they had six children. From 1875 he had built an impressive mansion,

Swifts Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

, in the Sydney harbour suburb of

Darling Point, New South Wales Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to t ...

, which was designed in the

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. From 1880 to 1884 he represented Monaro in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

In 1889, he settled in England, although he remained involved in Australian interests and visited frequently. In 1895 he ran as a Conservative for the House of Commons, but he was defeated. In 1904, he took the name Lucas-Tooth and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. In 1910, he bought Holme Lacy House from the Earl of Chesterfield and modernised it, installing electricity and sewage systems. As a philanthropist he gave: * in 1913 a gift of £50,000 to

Prince Alexander of Teck Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George; born Prince Alexander of Teck; 14 April 1874 – 16 January 1957), was a British Army commander and major-general who served as Governor- ...

to support the prince's fund to assist and extend facilities for the "physical and moral training of boys". His name was given to the fund and a medal named "Lucas-Tooth Boys Training Fund for Efficiency" was created circa 1916 to reward deserving military cadets; * the same year a donation of £1000 to the Mawson Antarctic Expedition Relief Fund, helping the "Aurora" reach

King George V Land George V Land is a segment of Antarctica part of the land claimed as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, inland from the George V Coast. As with other segments of Antarctica, it is defined by two lines of longitude, 142°02' E and 153°4 ...

and bring back Dr. Douglas Mawson and six others who were over-wintering there after a series of calamities; * in 1914 he also contributed £10,000 to Lady Dudley's Field Hospital to help the Australian war effort. He died at Holme Lacy in 1915. Both his elder sons were killed in action within six weeks of each other in the First World War in 1914 and the youngest, Archibald, who had succeeded him as 2nd Baronet, also died of pneumonia on military service in 1918. Although two of his sons had married, there were no male heirs and the baronetcy thus became extinct. His wife Helen, Lady Lucas-Tooth (nee Tooth), died in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in 1942. The baronetcy was revived in 1920 through the son of Sir Robert's daughter. Holme Lacy was sold in 1919 to R. Hadden Tebb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas-Tooth, Robert Lucas 1844 births 1915 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Australian brewers 19th-century Australian businesspeople