Thomas Trood (11 February 1833 – 23 March 1916) was an entrepreneur notable for acting as British

Vice Consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

during the period it was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by Germany in 1900. Known colloquially as the "Grand Old Man of Samoa" for his long service in local affairs, he was commemorated in a set of the nation's

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the ...

in 1968.

Biography

Thomas Trood was born at

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

but emigrated with his family aged five to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. His father, also called Thomas Trood, became one of the first master printers in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. When Thomas Trood senior died, Thomas Trood junior sailed back to England with his mother in the ''Thomas Arbuthnot'', a ship that also carried the first gold mined in Australia to England on its way to be exhibited at the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

. In 1853 Trood returned to Sydney, later acquiring ''The Maid of Alicante'', a ship with which he went into business trading goods such as pearlshell around the islands of Oceania. Lured by tales of a pearlshell "Treasure Island" he kept searching in vain until, eventually, he had exhausted his savings. Thomas Trood returned to Samoa in 1860. For the next 18 years he worked as a bookkeeper, and later manager, for more successful British and German entrepreneurs in Samoa and Tongatabu before finally starting another business of his own. Witnessing, recording and reporting local political developments over many decades, Thomas Trood's diligent and benevolent support for Samoa earned him great respect. When it was discovered that writer

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

was buried on his land by mistake, Trood presented the land to the Stevenson family in perpetuity. Thomas Trood died on 23 March 1916.

References

1833 births 1916 deaths Colony of New South Wales people People from Taunton British company founders 19th-century British politicians 19th-century British businesspeople 19th-century Australian businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1830s-stub