Lionel Samson (1799-15 March 1878) was an early

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

settler and businessman whose firm, Lionel Samson & Son, is the second oldest continuing family business in Australia. It is likely his father was Michael Samson, "a member of one of the old established and wealthy families of English Jewry", according to the

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. After studying at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and being a member of the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

he emigrated to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Samson arrived at

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 ...

in 1829 on the '' Calista'' and soon set up business as a wine and spirit merchant, importer, and

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...

. He also engaged in whaling. He had a whaling station at

Bathers Beach, Fremantle Bathers Beach, also known as Whalers Beach, is a section of coastline that has a written history since the European settlement of what is now called Fremantle, Western Australia. In the 1890s it was bounded to the south by the Long and Short j ...

by 1840. He purchased Fremantle town lots 27 and 28 in the first state land sale. He was

postmaster-general A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

from 1830 to 1832. In 1835 he obtained the state's first liquor license. In 1842 he returned to Britain and married Frances Levi. They had six children: three sons and three daughters. Samson was a member of the Fremantle Town Trust and a nominee in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

in 1849–56 and 1859–68. Lionel Samson & Son's interests include wholesale liquor distribution, vineyards, and winemaking, woven bulk bags for industrial use and industrial packaging. It also owns Sadleirs Transport, a national transport and freight forwarding company. Lionel Samson Building, in Cliff Street, is on the

Heritage Council of Western Australia The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state. Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and p ...

's Places Database. Two of Samson's sons became mayors of Fremantle: William Frederick Samson (1892–1893) and

Michael Samson Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

(1905–1907). In addition, his grandson Sir Frederick Samson was mayor of Fremantle from 1951 to 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Lionel Australian auctioneers English emigrants to colonial Australia 1799 births 1878 deaths Australian Jews Burials at Fremantle Cemetery Australian people in whaling 19th-century Australian businesspeople Settlers of Western Australia

See also

References