Alfred Henry Shaw ^{5 6}

  Chronology:

1832 - BIRTH.
Alfred's daughters Lavinia and Olive were agreed that he had been born in August 1832 although they disagreed on the date, giving it as 6th and 8th respectively. All the known sources agree on his birthplace being Huddersfield, Yorkshire, but this may not tell the full story. Although it is probable that he was baptised at St Peter's in central Huddersfield he may have been born in the tiny village of Lane about 10km south. Alfred's oldest brother John was baptised at St Peter's but at the time his father's abode was given as Lane. This was also the case for Alfred's father and two aunts although in later censuses his father gave his birthplace as Huddersfield.

There are trade directory entries in 1822 and 1834 for a Joseph Shaw, Cloth Dresser of Lane, and then in 1837 for "Shaw Widow" of the Lane dye works. This does raise the possibility that Alfred's father, also a Cloth Dresser, may have been living in Lane for at least some of the years between 1820 and 1841.

In 1841 Alfred was 8 years old and living with his mother, father, sisters Frances, Isabella and Amelia, and brother Joseph in Ramsden St central Huddersfield. ¹¹

In 1851 he was 18 and described as a Warehouseman. He was again living in Ramsden St, Huddersfield (probably number 5) with his mother, father, sisters Susanna (43, a milliner) and Amelia (20), and brother Joseph (25, a Tinner). ¹²

July 1853 - Arrival
On 19th July 1853 Alfred arrived in Melbourne on the "North Atlantic" which left Liverpool at the beginning of April.His brother Joseph had arrived the previous October so one could guess that after spending a couple of months looking around goldrush Melbourne Joseph had written and encouraged his younger brother to join him. Alfred may already have left England as according to his daughter Olive writing in 1962 he "emigrated to America as a youth but didn't stay long".

The passenger records for the brothers' voyages do raise a question about their occupations. All the other details agree with what we know but Alfred is recorded as being a Joiner and Joseph a Draper. It is possible that Alfred foresaw the value of this trade in the booming colony and maybe Joseph planned to take advantage of his family connections as a cloth importer and dealer. It is also possible that Alfred had served at least part of an apprenticeship as a Joiner. It seems unlikely that his father wouldn't have secured him in some sort of trade or profession. Could his brief American trip have been prior to 1851 apprenticed to a ship's carpenter? ¹³

Jul 1853 until 1854
We can only guess what Alfred did in his first year in Melbourne. The town was in a gold rush frenzy but there is no indication that he went to the diggings. His daughter Olive provides a clue - "After his arrival in Australia he established some sort of business in Robe Street, St Kilda". Did he try his hand there as a carpenter or joiner? ¹⁴

MARRIAGE
On 12 Jul 1854 he married Hannah Heywood at the Minister's House in Albert Street, Collingwood. His residence was given as North Melbourne and his occupation as Tinsmith.

There are some strong indications that Alfred knew Hannah from Huddersfield. In 1851 Hannah's family was living at Crofthead just around the corner from the Shaws' home in Ramsden Street. Hannah was probably living there as well but on census night she was visiting her uncle Hugh Mellor and aunt Mary (nee Turton) Mellor at Jackson's Bridge, Holmfirth. This introduces a further possible link in that Hugh Mellor is described as a Woollen Miller and in 1861 as a Woollen Cloth Manufacturer. With Holmfirth only a mile or two up the road from Lane it seems likely that Alfred's family with its wool dying enterprise and the Mellors would have been acquainted. The Mellor-Turton-Heywood connection is strengthened with Hannah's sister Sarah also in the area in 1851 staying with Andrew Mellor a Woollen Yarn Manufacturer married to Mary Mellor/Turton's sister Elizabeth. It is worth noting that in 1851 Sarah and Hannah were described as Dressmakers, the occupation of Alfred's sisters.

About 1854 to 1855
Before his marriage Alfred had begun working with brother Joseph. From his obituary in the Australasian Hardware and Machinery Journal from 1908 ".... he was not brought up to the hardware but to the soft-goods trade. Until, in the early fifties he landed in Australia, he had never touched the industrial metals. In Melbourne, however, he found a brother who was engaged in the making and selling tinware, and this brother dying before long, the business fell, accidently as it were, into his hands." Brother Joseph, aged 30, died in February 1855 and was buried in the then newly established Melbourne General Cemetery. Like his sister Isabella 9 years earlier and sister Susanna 10 years later he died from "Phthisis" (Tuberculosis). His headstone still stands and includes inscriptions for two of his sister Amelia's children who share the grave with him.

Alfred's 1854 address in "North Melbourne" cannot be confirmed but it seems likely that the two brothers, unmarried and starting a business together, would have shared at their place of work. Joseph died at an address in Cardigan St, Melbourne and at that time the business was described as being "started near Queensberry-street" which intersects Cardigan in what probably was considered "North Melbourne" (what is now West and North Melbourne was then known as Hotham). ^{15 16 17}

1855 to 1859
Soon after Joseph's death "the business was transferred to Elizabeth-street north" and for the three years 1857 to 1859 "Shaw, Alfred, Tinsmith, 260 Elizabeth Street" appeared in Sands & McDougall. This was the time of the "later" gold rushes with more than 50,000 diggers passing through Melbourne. All would have needed basic hardware and Alfred's business was there to supply them. He expanded into rural Victoria and "a branch was opened in Ballarat and others in Chiltern, Indigo and Wahgunyah".

By mid 1856 Alfred would have received the news of his mother's death back in Yorkshire. Coming so soon after the death of his brother he must have felt the loss badly. It would have been some comfort to see his Australian family begin to grow with son Alfred being born at Elizabeth Street in early 1858 then the marriages of two of Hannah's sisters and the arrival of some nephews. At the time of their marriages (and that of Hannah) it seems likely the sisters were living with their mother Dinah Heywood and youngest daughter Ellen in Collingwood. ^{5 18 19 20 21}

1860 to c1867
By 1860 Alfred and family had moved from the city to St Kilda. In 1863, about when this photo was taken, Alfred and Hannah had four children and were living at The Nest in Balaclava Road.
The business had also moved. From 1860 until 1867 the directory listed Alfred Shaw as an Ironmonger of 234/236 Elizabeth Street. In 1862 a premises was also listed in Dryburgh Street, Hotham, just down from the SW corner of the intersection with Queensberry Street and at that time bordering on swamp land.

The 1859-60 gold rush centred on the Indigo lead between Chiltern and Wahgunyah in Victoria's north had proved "relatively unproductive and on the perimeter of previous activity" (Serle p218) but things were happening in New Zealand. "Constituting the country's biggest gold strike, the discovery of gold in Otago led to a rapid influx of foreign miners - many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria. The rush started at Gabriel's Gully but spread throughout much of Central Otago, leading to the rapid expansion and commercialisation of the new colonial settlement of Dunedin , which quickly grew to be New Zealand's largest city." (Wikipaedia) The Otago gold rush reached a peak in late 1861. Not long after that gold was discovered on the West Coast causing a heavy influx of miners to the Hokitika area peaking between 1864 and 1866. Alfred's country branches were sold and new ones opened in Dunedin and Hokitika. They were put under the management of Matthew Gill, formerly employed at Elizabeth Street and later to run the London office. ^{22 23 24 25}

1867-1868
In 1867 Alfred closed down his retail business in Elizabeth Street and went to buy stock in London (Sutherland). His father had died in Aug 1866 so it is possible the trip had to do with sorting out family affairs in Yorkshire.

There were now five children at Balaclava Rd. A sixth, Luther, had died aged 2 months in November 1866 at the South Yarra home of Hannah's sister Mary Clarke. I haven't been able to find Alfred on the inward or outward passenger lists but from Effie's birth date in March 1868 he must have left for London sometime after June 1867 and according to Sutherland, returned in early 1868 . The round trip may have taken more than six months so he may not have been back for the birth. This is supported by the informant for the birth being Frank Payne, a gardener employed by Alfred and resident at Balaclava Rd although he had also been the informant for Luther's birth. Family lore tells that the children's nurse, Teeny, was also living with the family and was to remain with them for more than fifty years.

Before the voyage a Henry Hughes joined the firm. It is uncertain as to his position but by 1870 and then for most years until 1884 his name appears alongside Alfred's in the directory. In 1870 Henry shared an address with John Hughes, a partner in Hughes & Harvey, which was a well established Melbourne tinsmith and ironmonger formed about the same time as Alfred Shaw & Co. It seems likely that John was related to Henry, possibly his father. By 1877 John Hughes may have died as he no longer appeared as a partner in Hughes and Harvey.

The connection between the two firms was to become even stronger. In 1885, Charlotte Alice Harvey, the daughter of the remaining partner, Robert Joseph Harvey, was to marry Alfred Shaw's oldest son, also Alfred. In 1889 the two companies merged becoming Harvey, Shaw and Co. carrying on into the twentieth century with R J Harvey and the younger Alfred Shaw as partners. ^{5 26 27}

1868-1872
The 1868 directory shows the address of Alfred Shaw & Co as 42 Little Collins St West, likely a temporary premises arranged for the period Alfred was overseas. The following year the firm was at 13 Little Collins Street West (later renumbered to 360 Little Collins) where the firm was to maintain a presence until well into the following century. The indications are that in 1869 he used a bluestone warehouse already on the site before incorporating it as part of the ground floor of a new three story building. During the construction he used 38 Elizabeth Street around the corner as his business address. The new building, completed in late 1871 had "a frontage of 40 ft. to Little Collins-street and a depth of 127 ft., containing a cellar, ground floor and two upper flats, each floor being occupied by all the various articles of a complete wholesale hardware business" (Sutherland). The bluestone wall along Gill's Alley with its arched cart entry is still standing having been incorporated into a 1930s renovation carried out when the building passed to Guest's Furniture Removalists. Benjamin Hill whose family jewellery business bought the building in the 1970s recalled evidence of stables being discovered when the rear of the building was excavated for a truck rental company.

"The growth of the business rendered it needful to establish a London office, which Mr. Shaw opened at 72 Gracechurch-street in 1872. The New Zealand businesses were wound up and Mr. Gill took charge of the London office" (Sutherland). Matthew Gill can be found in London in 1881. He is described as an "Australian Merchant" and is living with his wife Elizabeth next door to the Havestock Hill Congregational Church. Considering Alfred's connection with non-conformist denominations it may not have been coincidence. (I don't know the origin of the "Gill" in Gill's Alley but it does suggest at least a possibility that theere is a connection to this Gill). ^{5 14 28 29 30}

Abt 1870
By 1871 the family had moved back along Balaclava Road to William Street near Balaclava railway station. They were to stay there for more than fifteen years.

1875
Alfred Shaw & Co expanded into Queensland. "In 1875 they purchased the hardware business of Messrs. Ward Brothers of Queen Street, Brisbane and placed it under the management of Mr. T.E.White whom they admitted as a partner in the Brisbane business. This branch soon developed into by far the largest hardware trade in Queensland, their stores now covering nearly an acre and a half" (Sutherland). The following year they exhibited at the Brisbane Exhibition.

"..... Early in 1888 they purchased the hardware business of Messrs. McPherson & Co. of Townsville placing the same in charge of Messrs. Moore and Rodgers, two young men formerly in their Brisbane branch but who now have an interest in the Townsville branch. The stores of the firm cover nearly three-quarters of an acre and their business is by far the largest in Northern Queensland." (Sutherland)

1874-1877
(See Alfred Shaw & Co in Victoria)

"In 1874 the firm started the Australasian stamping factory in Franklin-street, being the first in the colonies to manufacture heavy stamped ware such as milk dishes, frying pans and the like. The factory is a substantial building, covering nearly a quarter of an acre and employing about 80 hands" (Sutherland). In March 1877 the Illustrated Australian News published this picture and noted that it "shows the factory on the corner of Franklin and Stewart Streets known as the Australian Tin Stamping and Japanning Works; three storey building, iron bars over the ground floor windows." The sign on the building shows "Shaw & McNaughton", the McNaughton probably being Duncan McNaughton an Ironmonger at 99 High street, St Kilda in 1870 and then later at Argyle St, St Kilda. Sands & McDougall directory entries for Alfred Shaw & Co included 8 Franklin St until 1896. ^{5 31 32}

1884
In 1884 Hannah died at Hiawatha, the new family home just completed at William Street. The photo at the right was taken in the front garden not too long afterwards judging by the black armbands. As far as I can work out it shows Lavina, Amelia, Alfred (Jnr), (unknown), Effie, (unknown), Ernest and Eva.

1886
At the time of his second marriage his address was given as Strathearn, Crouch End, Hornsey, London. the minister at his marriage was Alfred Rowland and in 1901 an Alfred Rowland, Congregational Minister is living at 20 Crescent Road, Crouch End. In the same year further down the street is a house "Strathearn" occupied by a Charles Herbert Pritchard. Strathearn would have been on th enorth side of Crescent Road at about number 9 and not quite opposite the house of Alfred Rowland. From an aerial map it looks like Strathearn has been replaced by a block of flats although the rest of the street looks to be 19C vintage.
On looking at the 1891 census Strathearn with another house, Ellendale, is between numbers 11 and 7 Crescent Road and 7 is the last address before Coolhurst Road so it is just possible it may still be standing. ³³

1888 to 1890 BANK COMMISSIONER
In November 1888 Alfred was appointed a commissioner of The Savings Banks of the Colony of Victoria

There's probably a lot to be written about this role considering the immininent crash. From the few sources I've uncovered Alfred's part was minor, lasting only until about May 1890 when he was one of two commissioners to resign from overseas during a minor "run" on the banks. (This was probably the trip referred to by Olive Shaw in 1962 as being in 1891 or 1892 "with wife, Eileen and Olive plus Effie, Eva and nurse").

There is much discussion in the literature about the commissioners being overly influenced by the temperance movement and investing heavily during the 1880s in coffee palaces including one which later became the Windsor Hotel.

In keeping with the boom and bust in Melbourne, Alfred's public life seems to have peaked in the late 1880s before declining through the 90s. It is family lore that he was caught in the bust in Victoria but it seems his Queensland business was devasted by flood and drought and there are references to landmark industrial relations cases involving his company there. This rise and fall parallelling the fortunes of the colonies needs a much closer look.

1887 to 1894 BRIGHTON
From 1887 until 1894 the family lived at the second Hiawatha in Brighton. Although the exact date is uncertain the photo of Alfred at the right would date from around the time of the move to Brighton. ³⁴

1895 to 1898 PERTH
The years after the land crash in Melbourne are still a bit of a mystery. We know that the family left Brighton for Perth in November 1894 and there a number of references to a house named "Moss Lea" in Howick (later Hay) Street. From son Herbert's list of residences it seems Alfred and family may have been there until at least November 1895 when Herbert moved to a new address close by.

In the mid 1890s Alfred was busily expanding the business in Queensland and an August 1896 item from the Tropiculturist refers to him and son Arthur giving Brisbane their special attention. It goes on to mention that Alfred was at that time in London and referred to his passing through America. This must be trip daughter Olive mentioned, "After a trip with wife and youngest child (Ailsa) he settled in Perth in 1898 .....", which would fit with this arrival in Fremantle on the SS Buninyong" on 26th January, 1898. It seems likely that he had extricated himself from his various business problems in the east during 1897. ³⁵

1898 to 1901 KALGOORLIE
From about 1898 to Nov 1901, he lived in Kalgoorlie.
With the assistance of a former employee, by then a senior partner in ironmongers Drake and Stubbs which had bought out his WA business, Alfred set up in Kalgoorlie. Entries appeared in the WA Post Office directory until 1901 for the "W A Hardware Company (Alfred Shaw - mgr) ironmongers etc". The address is given as Dugan Street until 1901 when he appears to have moved the business to the Exchange building in Hannan Street. Apparently it was not a success and the business was sold before he moved back to Perth. ^{35 36}

1901 to 1908 PERTH
From 1901 until his death in 1908, Alfred lived in the Perth's southern suburbs.

According to his daughter Olive, he "left Kalgoorlie in November 1901 and rented a house in Applecross for two years. Lived briefly in South Perth, Kelmscott and Leederville and subsequently bought the house in Applecross where he died in 1908. Fortunes were pretty low in these years". The house in Applecross was in Fraser Road and when he first arrived there were only 12 houses in the area.

A former colleague from Melbourne visited him shortly before his death and reported that Alfred even at that late stage was considering a new career as a land agent. ^{35 37 38}

RELIGION
Throughout his life in Australia, Alfred was heavily involved in the activities of various non-conformist churches.

There are only hints as to when this move away from the established church of his forebears occurred. As far as is known the baptismal rites for all the Shaws of Alfred and his father's generations and likely beyond took place in the parish church of St Peter, Huddersfield. We know that his father was married in the Wakefield parish church. I'm not sure that this rules out an independent leaning within this part of his family but for the families of his mother and his wife there are well documented non-conformist influences

Isabella Garnet was baptised in 1791 in Hull at the Fish Street Independent Chapel and there are strong indications that before that her family was connected with the Zion Independent Chapel in Bridlington to the north.

Hannah Heywood and her siblings were probably baptised in parish churches but her mother, Dinah Turton, and her siblings were baptised in Independent, Congregational or Wesleyan chapels. It is likely that this was the influence that led to Alfred and Hannah being married by the Collingwood Wesleyan Methodist minister in 1854.

There are strong indications that Alfred's siblings favoured the independent church as well. Brother Joseph was buried in the Wesleyan section of Melbourne Cemetery in 1855, sisters Frances and Amelia were both married in Independent Chapels in the 1860s, and as early as 1851 Harriet's husband had given up his trade as a joiner and become a Baptist Minister. There is even a tantalising hint that Alfred's father may have become some sort of lay preacher before his death in 1866 with an 1864 directory entry listing a Reverend William Shaw of Eightlands House close by his last recorded address.

From at least as early as 1870 he was involved with the Church of Christ in Australia. Initially this was in Balaclava where fellow ironmonger Benjamin Hill was also involved. Later he was involved with the Swanston Street church and according to their web site he assisted with the purchase of the church building (pictured) ......

"In 1881, the Swanston Street congregation became tenants of the John Knox church, continuing in that capacity until 1883 when the building was purchased from the Presbyterian Church for ?4,500. The building was sold at auction and was bought by Mr. Alfred Shaw, a member of the Swanston Street church, and it was offered by him to the church for the same amount that he paid for it."

He seems to have been held in high esteem within the church with A B Maston's 1903 history listing his name with five others including Robert Service, father the Victorian premier, James Service. It goes on to describe them as "men who did good and solid work in the cause of primitive christianity. These names should always be held in honourable remembrance for the part they played in the early struggles of the church to gain a foothold and make headway".

After his move to the west he continued his involvement and was the President of the first Perth Conference in 1898 and then of the first Goldfields' Conference in Kalgoorlie in 1901. ^{1 39}

Alfred married Hannah Heywood, daughter of George Heywood and Dinah Turton, on 12 Jul 1854 in Ministers House, Albert St, Collingwood, Melbourne.^{1 2} (Hannah Heywood was born on 23 Jan 1830 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire ^{40 41}, christened on 8 Aug 1830 in Kirkheaton, Yorkshire,⁴² died on 29 Aug 1884 in Balaclava, St Kilda ^{38 43} and was buried on 30 Aug 1884 in St Kilda Cemetery, Melbourne, , Victoria, Australia ^{38 44}.)

  Marriage Notes:

Witnesses : Joseph Horsfall and Sarah Heywood

Alfred next married Margaret Susan Wilson, daughter of Dr. William Wilson and Margaret Doig, on 11 Nov 1886 in Congregational Church, Crouch End, North London.^{3 4} (Margaret Susan Wilson was born on 2 Jul 1858 in Colmonell Village, Ayrshire ^{45 46} and died on 14 Apr 1948 ⁴⁵.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

They were married by Alfred Rowland LLB BA. Robert C Hannah and Agnes Wilson were the witnesses. Robert Hannah was Margaret's brother-in-law and Agnes Wilson her older sister.