Alfred Sandover M.B.E. (24 November 1866 – 4 May 1958), was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n hardware merchant and philanthropist born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the youngest of five children. Graduating from North Adelaide Grammar School in 1881, he came to

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, in 1884, arriving in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

when the temperature was 41 °C (106 °F) and vowing to stay not a day over his contract. In 1921, Sandover donated the

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

bearing his name as the West Australian Football League's annual award recognising the league's fairest and best player of the regular season.

Personal life

Sandover was the youngest of five children of

William Sandover William Sandover (21 September 1822 – 5 March 1909) was a British hotelier and politician in South Australia, the father of Alfred Sandover MBE and great grandfather of Raymond Sandover DSO, ED. History He was born in Cornwood, Devon, En ...

and his wife Mary Billing, née Bates. William was a

hotelier A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to: management of hotel staff, b ...

and later a politician in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. While on a visit to England, Alfred was born on 24 November 1866. The family returned to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, on the ''City of Adelaide'', arriving on 12 October 1867. Educated at

North Adelaide Grammar School North Adelaide Grammar School, later Whinham College was a private school operated in North Adelaide, South Australia by John Whinham (3 August 1803 – 13 March 1886) and his family. History John Whinham The founder of the school was born at S ...

, in 1881 Sandover attained first-class honours in the senior public examination. His older brother, William Sandover, Jnr., (c. 1856 – c. 22 May 1921) had moved to Western Australia around 1880 and opened a chemist's shop and hardware store, and called on Alfred to help him run the business, W. Sandover & Co. Alfred arrived in Fremantle in 1884, and initially found the dust, the glare, and temperature of 41 °C (106 °F), unbearable; he determined to return as soon as his contract term elapsed, yet Sandover eventually decided to remain in Western Australia for the rest of his life. The company prospered: gold was discovered at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, and the 1890s saw a huge demand for machinery and all kinds of hardware which W. Sandover & Co. was able to supply. On 11 July 1895, Alfred Sandover married Rose Allen at St. Georges Church in

Malvern, Victoria Malvern ( ) is a inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, eight kilometres south-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Malve ...

, and in 1896 they bought an property in

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

, which they named "Knutsford". In 1921, Sandover provided for the Western Australian Football league the medal for the fairest and best footballer during the regular season. The medal is awarded annually in the week before the grand final with a descendant of Sandover present for the presentation. Sandover was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) in 1951. He retired in 1957 at the age of 90 and died at home on 4 May 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandover, Alfred Businesspeople from Perth, Western Australia 1866 births 1958 deaths Hardware merchants Members of the Order of the British Empire British emigrants to Australia