Sir Charles McNess (born 26 March 1852 in

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

, England – died 21 June 1938 in

Mount Lawley, Western Australia Mount Lawley is an inner northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The suburb is bounded by the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River to the east, Vincent Street, North Perth, Vincent, Harold and Pakenham Streets to the south, Central Av ...

) was an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

and philanthropist.

Early years

In 1875 McNess married Maude Metherall in London. He migrated to Western Australia the following year. He was married again in the late 1880s while visiting London, to Annie Elsie Poncy.

Perth, Western Australia

As a child he worked as an apprentice tinsmith in London. He later he traded in scrap metals, and came to Australia in his mid-twenties, starting in business in

Perth 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 ...

as an ironmonger. In Australia he became a real estate agent and invested largely in city properties including a warehouse on Wellington Street and several shops on the corner of

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

and

Barrack Street Barrack Street is one of two major cross-streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Together with St Georges Terrace, Wellington Street and William Street it defines the boundary of the main shopping precinct of th ...

s. His properties became very valuable. He built McNess Royal Arcade on the corner of Hay and Barrack Streets in Perth in 1897—this was the first shopping arcade in the city. The property was held in the McNess family until it was sold in 1980. McNess retired in 1915 and henceforth spent much of his time in travelling—particularly to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

—and distributing his fortune by giving large subscriptions to

patriotic funds World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the ...

, hospitals, and religious bodies. The State War Memorial and Anzac House received funding through his patronage. In 1930 he founded the McNess fund for the distress caused by unemployment, and in 1932 gave £20,000 for this purpose. He was knighted by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

while in London on 29 June 1931. In 1937 he gave about £12,000 to the state government for the construction of a road in memory of his wife, who died in February of that year. Lady McNess Memorial Drive connects

Canning Dam The Canning Dam and reservoir are a major source of fresh water for the city of Perth, Western Australia. The dam is situated on the Darling Scarp and is an impoundment of the Canning River. It is noted for its innovative structural and hydraul ...

and

Brookton Highway Brookton Highway is a long undivided single carriageway highway in Western Australia, running from the southern Perth suburb of Kelmscott, Western Australia, Kelmscott, through Westdale, to the southern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatb ...

. He also built the McNess Hall for the Presbyterian church at Perth. McNess died on 21 June 1938 at the age of 86 at the home of his only son Herbert Fortescue McNess (born 1893) in Woodroyd Street,

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

. Herbert took over most of the McNess business activities following the death of his father.

Legacy

Charles McNess was of a retiring disposition and took little part in public life. His philanthropy was unobtrusive and generally directed through his close friend, Louis Shapcott, under-secretary to the

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

. It has been estimated that his benefactions may have exceeded £150,000. A monument to him is located in Florence Hummerston Reserve, Perth.

Loch McNess Loch McNess (), also known as Yanchep Lake, is a freshwater lake located near Yanchep in the northern part of the coastal plain of Perth, Western Australia. Loch McNess is part of the Wanneroo wetlands, a chain of lakes, and is part of the Yan ...

Yanchep Yanchep is a coastal town north of Perth, Western Australia, north of the Perth CBD. It is a part of the City of Wanneroo local government area. Originally a small crayfishing settlement, it was developed by entrepreneur Alan Bond in the 19 ...

was developed as part of a bequest from his estate and named in his honour in 1935.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNess, Charles 1852 births 1938 deaths Businesspeople from Perth, Western Australia Australian philanthropists