Sir Samuel Hordern (24 September 1876 – 3 June 1956) was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of

Anthony Hordern & Sons Anthony Hordern & Sons was a major department store in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With 52 acres (21 hectares) of retail space, Anthony Hordern's was once the largest department store in the world. The historic Anthony Hordern building, w ...

from 1909 to 1926.

Early years

Samuel Hordern was born on 24 September 1876 at

Retford Hall The Hordern family is an Australian retailing dynasty. Outline The Hordern family first came to prominence in Sydney as merchants and retailers with the establishment of Anthony Hordern & Sons, and then gained notability in rural pursuits, st ...

, Darling Point in Sydney, the eldest son of Samuel Hordern and Jane Maria Booth. His father was the grandson of Anthony Hordern I, who established the eponymous store as a drapery shop in 1823, and his mother was the daughter of prominent Sydney produce merchant and later Alderman, John Booth. Educated at

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

and

Bath College Bath College is a further education college in the centre of Bath, Somerset and in Westfield, Somerset, England. It was formed in April 2015 by the merger of City of Bath College and Norton Radstock College. The College also offers Higher Ed ...

in England, Hordern returned to Sydney in 1895 to take up employment in the family business. On 4 March 1900, Hordern married Charlotte Isabel Annie See, daughter of Premier Sir John See, at St Jude's Anglican Church, Randwick and they had one son and two daughters. In the same month, Hordern purchased the 1890 Federation Arts & Crafts house, "''Tuxedo''", in Albert Road,

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A sma ...

, which became the family's residence until July 1914 when Hordern sold it for £3500.

Anthony Hordern & Sons

On the death of his father in August 1909, in accordance with his father's will, Hordern took over management of the family company, which employed more than 4000 people in its store and mail-order business and imported, manufactured and sold a vast range of merchandise. In 1910, Hordern purchased the 1837 Darling Point mansion, "''Mount Adelaide''", from the family of

Henry Mort Henry Mort (23 December 1818 – 6 September 1900) was a pastoralist, businessman, and politician in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and a Member of the New South Wales Le ...

, and commissioned architects Morrow & De Putron to design and build a Federation Arts & Crafts mansion, which he named "''

Babworth House Babworth House is a heritage-listed former residence and school and now staff accommodation at 103 Darling Point Road, Darling Point, Sydney, Australia. It was designed in various stages by Mortimer Lewis, Edmund Blacket, and Morrow and De Put ...

''" and which became his family's primary residence from 1915 until his death in 1956. Hordern publicly listed the company in 1912 and restructured it in 1920. Hordern retired from the business in 1926, when he sold it to a public limited liability company for the sum of AU£2,900,000, described at the time as the "largest business sale that has ever taken place in the history of Australia".

Later career and philanthropy

Hordern was a director of the

Australian Mutual Provident Society AMP Limited (formerly Australian Mutual Provident Society) is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through '' ...

, from 1915, and was its Chairman for fifteen years, until 1947. He was a keen cattle, dog and horse breeder, and owner of racehorses, including the 1919

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

winner 'Artilleryman'. Hordern was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1919, received the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

(1935) and the

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

(1937), and was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(KBE) in the

1938 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1938 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight the meritorious work of his subjects in those countries. The appointments were made to c ...

. Hordern was president of the

Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales The Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales was founded on 5 July 1822, when a group of Sydney's leading citizens formed the Agricultural Society of NSW, and is "a not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting agricultural developmen ...

(1915-1941) and developed the

Sydney Royal Easter Show The Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. First held in 1823, it comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...

into a major national event. Prominent in the

Sydney Chamber of Commerce The Sydney Business Chamber, established in 1825 as the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, is the second-oldest business entity in New South Wales. Today, it is a division of the NSW Business Chamber and known as Business Sydney. Its membership is dr ...

and many other business associations, he was a director of the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

, president of the Master Retailers' Association, and chairman of the

(1932–1947). On 1 December 1917 Hordern purchased on behalf on an interested group of benefactors, the former vice-regal residence, '' Cranbrook'' in Bellevue Hill, from the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

for a Church of England boys' school and contributed towards the establishment in 1926 of a Church of England girls' school in the same area:

Kambala School Kambala is a private school, private Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary, and Secondary school, secondary day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school for girls, located in Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia. ...

. He was a director of

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School at the ...

(1913–1939) and served as chairman of the hospital board in 1933–1934.

Later life and legacy

The

Hordern Pavilion Hordern Pavilion (known locally as The Hordern) is a building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground. Now known as a sports venue, dance party and music concert venue, the Hordern ...

at the Sydney Showgrounds was built in 1924 to commemorate the Hordern family business and Hordern's long-standing role as president of the Royal Agricultural Society.

Cape Hordern Cape Hordern is an ice-free cape, overlain by morainic drift, at the northwest end of the Bunger Hills in Antarctica. It was probably sighted from Watson Bluff () by A.L. Kennedy and other members of the Western Base Party of the Australasian ...

(originally "Hordern Island") in Antarctica was named after him by

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 ...

of the 1911–1914

Australasian Antarctic Expedition The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest ...

to honour his philanthropic support of the expedition. Hordern died age 79 on the same day as his sister, Jane, at his Darling Point residence, "''Babworth House''", on 3 June 1956. Following his death in 1956 the contents of ''Babworth House'' were sold at auction and the mansion was sold to a trust to become a hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hordern, Samuel 1876 births 1956 deaths Australian businesspeople in retailing Businesspeople from Sydney Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Sydney Grammar School Commonwealth Bank people Horden family Burials at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens