Samuel Lyons (c. 1791 – 3 August 1851) was a pardoned

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

who rose to prominence in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n colony of

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 ...

as a landowner and businessman. A

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

by trade, Lyons was sentenced to transportation for life in 1814 for theft. He reached

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 ...

in January 1815. He made an attempt to escape in April, but was brought back to Sydney in February 1816. In August 1816 he was taken to Hobart and in April 1817 he again unsuccessfully tried to escape. On 24 July 1819, for robbing government stores at Hobart, he was sentenced to receive 200 lashes and 4 years at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. Lyons married Mary Murphy on 20 May 1822 according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. He returned to Sydney in 1823 and opened a small store in Pitt Street and received a conditional pardon in March 1825 and an absolute pardon in May 1832. In 1825 Lyons set up as an auctioneer. Within three years he was described as a man of integrity. In 1827 he was joined by his brother, Saul, who arrived as a free immigrant, and some time later by another brother, Abraham. His sister, Lydia Samuel, migrated to Sydney in 1832, with her young son

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

(1820–1900). Besides other business achievements, Saul Samuel would become the first Jew to become a magistrate, the first Jew elected to parliament, and the first Jew to become a minister of the Crown. Saul also received a knighthood. Over the years, he was an industrious trader and auctioneer, eventually acquiring large tracts of land in the colony, and had many other business interests. Among these were three ships that made five whaling voyages for him between 1841 and 1847.https://whalinghistory.org/wri/TA248 Lyons purchased the ''Five Dock Farm'' estate from military surgeon and magistrate John Harris in 1836. He was soon to subdivide the land and sell it off in lots. It was at this time that he began the development of the first roads in the area, including Lyons Road, which bears his name. Lyons was active in various public affairs, serving on various committees, and helping in 1835 to found the

Australian Patriotic Association The Australian Patriotic Association is considered the first political party in Australia. It was formed in 1835 by a group of influential colonists of New South Wales which had among its leaders William Wentworth, the son of a convict woman an ...

together with

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...

William Bland William Bland (5 November 1789 – 21 July 1868) was a prominent public figure in the colony of New South Wales. A surgeon by profession, he arrived in Australia as a convict but played an important role in the early years of Australian health ...

and others, described as Australia's first political party. He joined them in petitions for trial by jury and taxation by representation, for the rejection of payment for public services not performed in the colony, for the wiser use of revenue from sales of waste land, and for the local government of Sydney. His conservative views and great wealth aroused antagonism, and in 1843 he was accused of undue political influence in the election of Wentworth and Bland to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

. Lyons had two sons and a daughter with Mary: George Herbert (b.1823),

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

(1826–1910) and Hannah. In the 1828 census Lyons had declared himself a Protestant but after his wife died in 1832 he rejoined the Jewish community and became a prominent member of the York Street Synagogue and of many Jewish committees. His three children were brought up in the Christian faith and were sent to be educated in England. He never remarried. By the time of his death in 1851, Lyons was a highly respected member of the establishment in New South Wales. He was buried in the Jewish portion of the

Devonshire Street Cemetery The Devonshire Street Cemetery (also known as the Brickfield Cemetery or Sandhills Cemetery) was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, Sydney, Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers Street, Chalmers and Devonshire streets, at Brickfi ...

, and following its closure, his tombstone was transferred to Botany cemetery in 1901. George became a barrister in England, while Samuel took over his father's enterprises, and in 1853 married Charlotte Margaret Futter at

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...

. They had three sons and a daughter. Samuel was twice elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

: in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

(1859–60) and Central Cumberland (1868–69), and was associated with

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

, the "father of federation".

References

* Russell, Eric. ''Drummoyne: a western suburbs' history from 1794''. Drummoyne, N.S.W.: Council of the Municipality of Drummoyne, Second Edition, 1982. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Samuel Convicts transported to Australia Australian auctioneers Colony of New South Wales people 1790s births 1851 deaths Australian people in whaling Australian ship owners 19th-century Australian businesspeople Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park