William Herbert Phillipps (3 December 1847 – 6 January 1935), generally referred to as W. Herbert Phillipps, later Sir Herbert Phillipps was a prominent

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 ...

n businessman and philanthropist.

Early days

Herbert was the son of Susannah (1813 – 26 December 1885) and James Phillipps ( –1861), a medical student turned saddler and lay preacher who arrived in Adelaide in 1839. He was born in Rosina Street, in a house which was reputedly the first in the city to be made of brick and having the first board floor. He had a brother and six sisters, two being: * fourth daughter Rosa (ca.1845 – 9 July 1941) married accountant and future M.P. and Commissioner of Audit Ebenezer Cooke (ca.1832 – 7 May 1907) (his second wife) on 8 May 1866 * fifth daughter Clara Anne (died 14 September 1939) married architect Frederick W. Dancker (ca. 1852 – 27 August 1936) on 15 May 1883. He was a student at J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution, Mr. Webster's private school in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

then Fellenberg's Commercial School in Pulteney Street, where he taught for a time.

Employment

In 1861 he started work with Crown solicitor William A. Wearing (later a Supreme Court judge) then in 1864 worked as tally clerk in the shipping company of Joseph Stilling. He also worked as Adelaide agent for the Chaffey Brothers. Around this time he adopted the spelling "Phillipps" for his surname. From 1879 he was Adelaide representative for Australasian Accident Assurance Association, Then from around 1882 to 1889 he was manager of Union Fire and Marine Insurance of New Zealand. For some years he was co-manager (with W. H. Charnock) of shipping company George Wills & Co., a subsidiary of G. & R. Wills & Co., of which his wife's uncle George Wills was a principal.

Board positions

Phillipps was appointed to the board of trustees of the Savings Bank of South Australia in 1900 and was its chairman for 32 years. His successor was J. C. Rundle. Herbert was a director of the

South Australian Gas Company The South Australian Gas Company (later known as SAGASCO) was formed in 1861 twenty-five years after the colony of South Australia was first settled. The establishment of gasworks from 1863 provided not only industry and employment but also stree ...

for 24 years. He was a director of The Executor Trustee and Agency Company from 1901 and chairman of directors for the last 12 years of his life. He was a founder, and president for 13 years, of the South Australian Employers' Federation. and on two occasions president of the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce. He had a close association with Glenelg Grammar School.

Charitable work

For the last thirty years of his life, Sir Herbert devoted much of his time and efforts to a galaxy of worthy charities: He was president of the Brighton Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution. For 25 years he was honorary treasurer of the

Adelaide Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flin ...

. In 1879 he was a founder member of the Adelaide YMCA and a life member of its advisory board. In the early 1870s he was one of the members of the

Kensington Football Club The Kensington Football Club was one of the first Australian rules football clubs founded in South Australia and played an integral part in the game's development in the state. The early rules used in South Australia were referred to as the "Ke ...

who purchased "Penn's Section" of 20 acres to create Kensington Oval. The oval was officially opened on 10 July 1875 and Phillipps was one of the trustees until it was taken over by Burnside District Council. He was president of the Orpheus Society, Cottage Homes Incorporated
Queen's Home (later Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital)
Rose Park and commander of St. John Ambulance Association and was elected Honorary Associate of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He was an active member of Kensington's

Clayton Congregational Church Clayton Wesley Uniting Church, formerly Clayton Congregational Church, is a church building in the Adelaide suburb of Beulah Park (historically located in Kensington), located on Portrush Road, in a commanding position at the eastern end of The ...

for over 50 years. and for some years chairman of the

Congregational Union Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

, and was involved with the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

. He was on the board of Commercial Studies at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

Civic activities

He was elected councillor in the Brighton City Council in 1893Brighton
''South Australian Register'' 29 December 1893 p.7 Retrieved 26 February 2011 For over 25 years Sir Hubert was honorary consul for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in South Australia and for his services was created Chevalier of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...

. On retiring the position in 1922, he was made honorary life-consul and awarded the Medaille Civique by King Albert. His services to business and the community were recognised by his knighthood in 1929.Death of Sir Herbert Phillipps
''The Advertiser'' 7 January 1935 p.9 Retrieved 27 February 2011

Family

His sister Jane married Frederick Isaac Caterer, co-founder of Norwood Grammar School and founder of Glenelg Grammar. On 18 December 1877 he married Caroline Mary Tarlton (died 3 October 1896), daughter of

R. A. Tarlton Robert Alfred Tarlton (21 April 1828 – 29 November 1918) was a businessman and politician in the early days of the colony South Australia. History Tarlton was born in Birmingham, England and trained for the Ministry. He married Caroline Walter ...

. Two daughters did not survive childhood: * Their first, Caroline Mary, died 2 January 1880 aged 15 months. *Margaret Tarlton, who died in 1893 aged 10 months. Three other daughters are recorded as: *Constance Tarlton Phillipps married Maj.

Harold Greenway Thomas John Greenway FIC (1854 – 12 March 1946) was an English metallurgist and mining manager in Australia, closely associated with the development of the Broken Hill mines. History Greenway was born in 1854,''England & Wales, Civil Registrat ...

(died as Colonel Greenway D.S.O. Croix de Guerre, on 9 April 1950) of

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

on 2 January 1917. *Kathleen Tarlton Phillipps married William Sydney Dean in 1911 *Ellice Tarlton Phillipps married George Lancelot "Lance" Dean, lived in Kensington Park and (a section of) "Koorine Estate", Kalangadoo, South Australia. Also Emu Hill near

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 ...

. Lance Dean's father was Brigadier-General George Henry Dean (c. 1861 – 12 February 1953) They had two sons: *eldest H(erbert) Tarlton Phillipps BSc. married Constance Pauline Griffin of Yass, New South Wales on 3 March 1909 and became a prosperous farmer at "Eulomo" in

Balingup, Western Australia Balingup is a town in the South West of Western Australia, south of the state capital, Perth, and southeast of the town of Donnybrook. The town takes its name from Balingup Pool, located on the Balingup Brook which flows through the town. The ...

*Malcolm Tarlton "Mac" Phillipps, who married Helen Reeves on 13 October 1917. An engineer and inventor, he founded (with financial assistance from his father) the Philmac company around 1930 to manufacture his "silent press" pushbutton cistern valve. He was president of S.A. Employers' Federation from 1943Personal
''The Advertiser'' (Adelaide) Wednesday 15 December 1943 p.4 Retrieved 7 November 2011 and chairman of the Brass Manufacturers' Association. :His son Malcolm Wheatley Phillipps was employed at Philmac ::Grandson Guy Malcolm Phillipps followed in his footsteps, manufacturing and developing fluid control devices through his own company Guyco. Phillipps died following a heart attack. His funeral was attended by a large number of prominent people and he was buried in a family plot in St Jude's cemetery,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

.list of Headstones at St Jude's
br /> Other stones are those of Caroline, Caroline Mary and Margaret Tarlton. Their homes were variously at "Lyndhurst" in Somerton (Tarlton Road and Phillipps Street, Somerton Park are nearby) and "Craigmellan" at Edwin Terrace, Gilberton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillipps, William Herbert People from Adelaide 1847 births 1935 deaths 19th-century Australian businesspeople 20th-century Australian businesspeople