Saul Solomon (15 January 1836 – 2 May 1929) was an artist born in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

the son of Lawrence Solomon, of

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...

He left for Australia on the ''Gambia'', Despite the title, Saul was not clearly a member of the widespread and influential family epitomised by

Vaiben Louis Solomon Vaiben Louis Solomon (13 May 1853 – 20 October 1908) was the 21st Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Commonwealth parliament. He was generally known by his full name (perhaps to distinguish him from his uncle, ...

a vessel of 1000 tons (not ''Gambier'') in June 1852. He prospected for gold in

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

, ran a photographic business in

Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

, then

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and finally Adelaide where he worked for many years with

Townsend Duryea Townsend Duryea (1823 – 13 December 1888) and his brother Sanford Duryea (22 February 1833 – 20 March 1903, see below) were American-born photographers who provided South Australians with invaluable images of life in the early colony. Their ...

, finally founding the Adelaide School of Photography, owned by Duryea. He was one of the founders of the Adelaide branch of the Independent Order of Oddfellows. After the fire in Duryea's studio, the School building took over much of the functions of the King William Street premises. He was co-founder with Robert Carr Castle (1835 – 14 June 1896) in 1879 of the Academy of Music (despite its grandiloquent title, actually a place of light entertainment) on Rundle Street, which burnt down three times. He was a member, and for a time chairman, of the consortium that in 1885 built the

Adelaide Arcade Adelaide Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is linked to, and closely associated with, Gay's Arcade. History The property on which the Arcade was built was the scene of two d ...

. He was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

for

East Torrens East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

in 1887, beating The Hon. Thomas Playford. In 1890 he moved to

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

, where he ran one of the leading hotels. The family moved to

Northam, Western Australia Northam () is a town in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about east-northeast of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2016 census, Northam had a population of 6,548. Northa ...

, where he ran an extensive farm "Morby" and a bacon factory, and was a foundation member of the Northam Agricultural Society. He served as mayor for over 20 years, and was active in the Mechanics' Institute and School Board. He died in 1929; Patti died four years later; they had celebrated their

diamond wedding A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Couples may take the occasion to celebrate their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for particular ann ...

in 1926.

Family

Solomon married Martha "Patti" Kemp (20 May 1846 – 25 October 1933) in

Carlton, Victoria Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3 km north of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of Vic ...

on 13 October 1866 *Joseph Francis "Joe" Solomon (1870– ) *Emma Amelia Solomon (1873– ) *Laurence Alexander "Alex" Solomon (1875 – March 1924) *Mabel Patti Solomon (1877 – 18 November 1924) married William P. Dempster, eldest son of Hon. C. E. Dempster *Bertram Marcus "Bert" Solomon (1879 – ) *Herbert Abraham Solomon (1881 – 16 April 1901) died in South Africa during the Boer War

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Saul Australian photographers Photographers from Adelaide Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Mayors of places in Western Australia 1836 births 1929 deaths