Hiram Barnes (19 October 1832 – 24 April 1917) was a

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 ...

businessman, born in Beckley, Sussex, England noted for his association with

Cobb & Co Cobb & Co was the name used by several independent Australian coach businesses. The first company to use 'Cobb & Co' was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name grew to great prominence in the late 19th century, ...

History

He came to Australia as a boy with his parents on the ''Duchess of Northumberland'', arriving in Sydney in 1837, attended Staff School, and lived some time in

Kissing Point Kissing Point is a point on the Parramatta River about 2 km south of Ryde, located in the suburb of Putney. Historically, the name referred to a much wider area than the current-day point; and perhaps originally to the point near Ryde Bridg ...

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 ...

then in 1847 moved to

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 ...

. He joined the gold rush, first to Black Hill, then

Forest Creek Hungry Horse Dam is an arch dam in the Western United States, on the South Fork Flathead River in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Montana. It is located in Flathead National Forest in Flathead County, about south of the west entrance to Glaci ...

and Friars Creek, the last of which made him a fortune, and he returned to live with his father in St Kilda. He started a business with three horse teams, carrying between St Kilda, Castlemaine and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

. In 1858 he joined the rush to

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

, but was unsuccessful and returned to the carrying business, with Hobby and Hewstead, a competitor to

who shortly took them over. He drove for Cobb & Co, becoming a manager of the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

route, at the time bushranger Ben Hall was active in that region. In 1865 he moved to

, where with partners James Rutherford and John Robertson, he took over the business of John Nolan, who had the mail contract between

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. As an independent branch of Cobb & Co, they took over the businesses of Cook & Fraser, then Mrs Hartley of Jondaryan, so expanding his business out of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

and

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

followed, Later he was employed by his sons' firm of Barnes and Co. of Brisbane, and lived at Kelvin Grove. He was a

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

member of the Methodist Church and worshipped at the Albert Street Church, and later at the Kelvin Grove Church, where he held responsible official positions. He died in 1917 at the home of his son-in-law, Rev. Robert Kerr, of

Toowong Toowong ( ) is a riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 12,556 people with a median weekly household income of $1,927. Geography Toowong is ...

Family

His wife predeceased him by a few months. Their children included politicians George Barnes and Walter Barnes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Hiram 1832 births 1917 deaths Colony of Queensland people People from Beckley, East Sussex 19th-century Australian businesspeople