Elias Solomon (2 September 1839 – 23 May 1909) was an Australian politician based in Fremantle. He was Mayor of Fremantle, MLA for South Fremantle, and the first Member for Fremantle in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

Early life

Solomon was born in London, England to Leah and Moss Solomon and migrated to Australia as a child, living at first in Sydney and then Adelaide. His uncle

Emanuel Solomon Emanuel Solomon (1800 – 3 October 1873) was a businessman and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia, representing the seat of West Adelaide in the South Australian Legislative Assembly from 1862 to 1865. He is the bro ...

owned the Queen's Theatre in Adelaide, and Solomon's father Moss was for a short while made manager. The family returned to Sydney until Moss' death in 1849 when Leah again moved to Adelaide and Solomon was educated at

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Univ ...

Career

After finishing school, Solomon joined another of his uncle's business concerns and in 1857 was sent to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

to purchase goods. On his return, he worked for the firm of ''Solomon and Salom'' in Adelaide, and also ''Falk and Co.'' of Melbourne. At the age of 29 Solomon headed west to Fremantle in

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 ...

, arriving on 20 January 1868 aboard ''Eliza Blanche'' and initially living in Henry Street. Soon the same year he was joined by two of his nephews and together then formed ''Solomon & Nephews, Auctioneers and Agents'' of which Solomon was clerk and auctioneer. This venture was part-financed by his half-brother Judah Moss Solomon (of Melbourne) and brother-in-law Isaac Solomon (of Adelaide). The weight of conducting business in a depressed economic environment bore on Solomon, and this was not helped by his nephews being active members of Fremantle's ''Amateur Dramatics Company'', performing at the Oddfellows in William Street. He wrote to them in July 1869: "…that you may not be under any misunderstanding with regard to my present dissatisfaction, I will be more explicit. You have taken up time belonging to the firm in Amateur Theatrical matters which, I believe, is acting prejudiciously to the business…" In 1881 he was elected to the Fremantle City Council. In 1892, he was elected to the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

as the member for South Fremantle, where he remained until 1901. In that year, he transferred to federal politics, winning the

seat of Fremantle for the Free Trade Party. He was defeated by

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

's William Carpenter in 1903. Solomon died in 1909. Solomon was at one time head of the

Fremantle Cemetery Fremantle Cemetery is a cemetery located in the eastern part (Palmyra) of Fremantle, Western Australia. Established in 1898, it is known as the final resting place of Bon Scott, several murderers and dozens of other notable Australians. There ...

board, which is where he is buried.

''Ocean View'' residence

Solomon's residence, ''Ocean View'' at 134 Solomon Street, Beaconsfield, was completed in 1887 in the Victorian Regency style. After his death it served as military hospital during World War One, until 1917, and as a maternity hospital in the years between the wars. It now has reverted to a private residence again and is heritage listed .

Family

Solomon was married twice, firstly to Agnes Elizabeth Bickley ( – 22 April 1886) and after her death, to Elizabeth Stokes (16 September 1868 – 3 December 1898) on 1 May 1887. They had five children. * Wallace Elias Bickley Solomon (1878–1950) was the first secretary, and honorary solicitor, of the

Royal Western Australian Historical Society Royal Western Australian Historical Society has for many decades been the main association for Western Australians to collectively work for adequate understanding and protection of the cultural heritage of Perth and Western Australia. It was fou ...

in 1926. * Maurice Elias Solomon (1888–1977), lawyer and councillor of the

City of Fremantle 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 Fr ...

References

External links

Prominent Australian Jews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Elias English Jews English emigrants to colonial Australia People educated at Adelaide Educational Institution Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia Jewish Australian politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Fremantle Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian auctioneers 1839 births 1909 deaths Burials at Fremantle Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople Mayors of Fremantle