Alfred Allen Simpson (15 April 1875 – 27 November 1939) was an industrialist 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 ...

and a partner in the firm A. Simpson & Son, founded by his grandfather Alfred Simpson. He was the mayor of Adelaide from 1913 to 1915.

History

Alfred Allen Simpson was a son of

Alfred Muller Simpson Alfred Muller Simpson (4 April 1843 – 28 September 1917), invariably known as Alfred M. Simpson or A. M. Simpson, was a South Australian industrialist, a principal of the manufacturing firm of A. Simpson & Son. He was a member of the South Au ...

(4 April 1843 – 28 September 1917) and his first wife Catherine Simpson, née Allen ( ? – 16 October 1887). Both Allen and his brother, Frederick Neighbour Simpson, learned the trade of tinsmith, much as their father and grandfather had done, except that they were not apprenticed; Allen learned the craft in the

Gawler Place Gawler Place is a single-lane thoroughfare in the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Somewhat narrower than other busy streets in the Central Business District, it runs north to south from North Terrace to Wakefield Stree ...

workshop and Fred in the stove factory in Pirie Street. Both also served in the retail shop where they later took on management tasks — Allen in the internal running of the business and Fred in charge of marketing and purchasing of raw materials: tinned and galvanized sheet metal, rivets and so forth. When their father took a trip to England in 1900 Allen acted as General Manager. The firm by this stage had 330 employees. A challenge at this time was

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, and the removal of interstate tariffs, opening up the South Australian market to competition from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

.''Today Not Tomorrow: A Century of Progress'' pub. A. Simpson & Son Ltd. Adelaide 1954 Allen Simpson had his father's social responsibility in regard to his workers and to society in general. He was elected to the Hindmarsh ward of the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

in 1901, at the same election as his friend (later Sir)

John Lavington Bonython Sir John Lavington Bonython (10 September 1875 – 6 November 1960) was a prominent public figure in Adelaide, known for his work in journalism, business and politics. In association with his father, he became involved in the management of n ...

. At that time, they were the youngest two members of Council ever. In 1903, he was elected

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

after the retirement of Joseph Vardon. He was prominent in the founding of the Metropolitan Dairies Board (later Metropolitan County Board) and its first chairman. He traveled without payment to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

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to learn about the systems of old-age pensions and electric tramways. He was elected Mayor of Adelaide in 1913 and again in 1914, again second only to Bonython as the youngest to hold that office. With the recession brought on by the closing of mines in 1914 and the record drought, he brought forward outstanding works such as extensions to the Central Market and the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. In 1915 he initiated the South Australian Soldiers' Fund, and with Lady Galway helped found the Belgium Relief Fund. He made it clear to his employees that any volunteers for overseas service with the 1st AIF could have their jobs back when they returned.

Other interests

*He became a member of the

Royal Geographical Society of Australasia The Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, formerly the Geographical Society of Australasia, was an Australian organisation formed in 1883 until it split up into various state organisations in the 1920s. The South Australian and Queensland b ...

in 1896 and served as President of the South Australian branch from 1925 to 1930. He contributed generously to C. T. Madigan's 1929 aerial survey of Central Australia. He financed the second crossing of the desert by camel in 1939, on which his son Robert Simpson went along as wireless operator. He helped finance

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

's Antarctic expeditions. *He was an active member of the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce and its president from 1932 to 1934. He was treasurer of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia from 1933 to 1935, and its vice-president 1935 to 1936. *He was a director of the

Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was an Australian bank founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. The original directors of the company were Henry Ayers Sir Hen ...

and 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 str ...

. *He was fluent in spoken and written German, and strongly opposed the 1917 renaming of Germanic placenames.

Recognition

*Simpson was awarded the

King Albert Medal The King Albert Medal (, ) was a Belgian medal established by royal decree on 7 April 1919 and awarded to both Belgians and foreigners who were exceptionally meritorious in promoting, organising or administering humanitarian and charitable work ...

by the

King of the Belgians The monarchy of Belgium is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional and Inheritance, hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/quee ...

. *He was initiated into the Worshipful Company of Tinsmiths so becoming a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

, following his grandfather. *He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. *He was made

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1923 *Simpson was awarded the Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. *The

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The Wangka ...

was named in his honour. * Cape Simpson, on the coast of

Adélie Land Adélie Land ( ) or Adélie Coast is a Territorial claims in Antarctica, claimed territory of France located on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. Franc ...

, Antarctica, was also named for him.

Family

Alfred Allen Simpson (1875–1939) married Janet Doris Hübbe (1887–1950) in 1910. Janet was a daughter of educator Edith Agnes Cook. From 1919 on, he resided with his family in Undelcarra in Burnside.Undelcarra Road
, Street names, City of Burnside Their children were: *Alfred Moxon Simpson

Alfred Moxon Simpson
, Companion of the Order of Australia, 6 June 1978, itsanhonour.gov.au (17 November 1910 – 11 November 2001) married Elizabeth Robson Cleland (16 October 1910 – 31 January 2005) on 3 August 1938. Elizabeth, a daughter of Professor J. B. Cleland, was an historian and author of: :::''The Hahndorf Walkers and the Beaumont Connection'' Beaumont Press, Adelaide 1983 . :::''The Clelands of Beaumont: a history of 26 generations of a South Australian family'' Beaumont Press, Adelaide 1986 :::''Beaumont House: The land and its people'' Beaumont Press, Adelaide 1993 *Robert Allen "Bob" Simpson (1912–1996) * Edith Janet Allen "Janet" Simpson (28 April 1915 – 29 July 1995) married Lieut. Eric Elton Mayo RAN (28 July 1912 – 19 November 1941) on 4 July 1939. A son of Sir Herbert Mayo (1885–1972), Eric was lost in the sinking of HMAS Sydney. They had two sons. Janet was noted as the longtime president of the War Widows Guild. *Audrey Katherine Allen Simpson (30 January 1917 – 27 February 2014) married Professor Andrew Arthur Abbie (8 February 1905 – 22 July 1976) *Derek Allen Frederick Simpson (8 August 1920 – 14 September 1975) married Virginia Russell on 17 May 1947. *Donald Adrian Allen Simpson (13 April 1927 – ) married Joana Thomson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Alfred Allen Australian manufacturing businesspeople Mayors and lord mayors of Adelaide 1875 births 1939 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire