Brookman was born on 15 April 1850 in
Glasgow,
Scotland, the eldest son of
typesetter Benjamin Brookman (16 September 1826 – 11 June 1917) and his wife Jane née Wilson (d. 1 March 1881).[1][2][3] The family emigrated to South Australia in 1852 on the Water Lily, arriving at
Port Adelaide on 5 May and settled in
Prospect. After completing his education at the schools of
James Bath and
R. C. Mitton,[2] he found employment with grocery firm
D & J Fowler. Then, with fellow-employee
William Finlayson jun., he took over Fowler's retail arm in
King William Street.[2] He set himself up as a stock and share broker and earned a position in the
Adelaide Stock Exchange in 1890.[4]
In 1893 he founded, with brother
William Brookman and Sam Pearce, the Coolgardie Gold Mining and Prospecting Co. Ltd. syndicate which financed the exploration and proving of a mining lease "Ivanhoe" in
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, in what was later dubbed the "Golden Mile" and made its backers incredibly wealthy. The syndicate owed its success to dogged determination in the face of criticism from experts, as the mineral was in a form that had not been encountered before[4] and through "Brookman's extraordinarily skilful financial transactions and able administration".[2]
He stood successfully for the Central District vacancy in South Australia's
Legislative Council in 1901[5] caused by the resignation of
Charles Kingston, who took up a seat in the new Federal Parliament. He was re-elected,[6] but did not stand for the elections of 1910.[7]
He was chairman from 1898 to 1922 of the South Australian Electric Light and Motive Power Company and its successor, the
Adelaide Electric Supply Company.
He gave £15,000 towards the eventual £50,000 cost of the School of Mines and Industries building on the Frome Road corner of
North Terrace. The School had been housed in the
Jubilee Exhibition Building (which was adjacent on the west side, and is now the site of the University of Adelaide's Ligertwood and Napier buildings), but had long since outgrown the space available to it.[12]
A feature of the building is the great stained-glass windows in Brookman Hall, locally produced by
E. F. Troy, celebrating the British Empire, and those to the south of the building, adjacent the stairway, made by the firm of
H. L. Vosz, depicting British scientists and technologists
Watt,
Newton,
Stephenson,
Bessemer,
Kelvin,
Faraday,
Wren and
Dalton.[13]
He was involved with various patriotic movements, especially during the
Great War: the State Repatriation Board, the Red Cross Society, the Anzac Hospitality Committee,[14] and other organisations with similar aims.
Recognition
The large assembly hall of the
School of Mines building, for which he contributed so generously, was named for him,[15] as colloquially has the building itself.
He was knighted (
KBE) on 19 October 1920 for his "Services during the War" to the State, the Commonwealth, and the Empire.[8][16]
His father, Benjamin (ca.1827 – 11 June 1917), then married Charlotte Elizabeth Ragless (ca.1847 – 1945) on 27 September 1883. Charlotte Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of John Ragless (ca.1815 – 27 May 1899)[17]
Their home was "Kelvin Lodge", (perhaps 3 Daphne St.) Prospect. After the death of her husband, Charlotte Elizabeth lived with her daughter Charlotte Evelyn "Lottie" Botten.[17]
Siblings
Children of Benjamin and Jane included
George Brookman (15 April 1850 – 20 June 1927), the subject of this article
Benjamin (Joseph) (ca.1855 – 22 May 1932) married Lillian Alice Augusta (August?) Hassall ( – 13 May 1930) on 29 January 1878.
William Gordon (ca.1860 – 5 January 1910)
James ( – ) moved to California
Lillian ( – ) married Benjamin Edward Ragless (3rd son of John Ragless, born ca.1851) on 12 December 1878
Katherine Isabella "Kate" Brookman ( – 2 November 1893) married
John White of Kent Town on 24 August 1882 (son Howard Gordon White born 24 October 1893).
Children of Benjamin and Charlotte Elizabeth included
John Ragless Brookman (5 June 1885 – 1971) married Elsie Elizabeth Parker (ca.1885 – 10 June 1919) on 22 March 1910[18]
Charlotte Evelyn "Lottie" ( – 13 June 1945) married Norman Leonard Botten ( – ) on 26 December 1914
Family of George Brookman
Afternoon Tea at the Brookmans’, c.1895. L-to-R: Mrs. Brookman, Norman, Miss
Ada Crossley and May
He married Eliza Martha Marshall (10 February 1859 – 26 January 1931) at
St Kilda, Victoria on 13 February 1878.
Their children included:
Alice May Brookman (18 May 1879 – ) married (Sir)
Thomas George Wilson M.B.[19] on 4 June 1902. They divorced in 1920.[20]
George Wilson Brookman (11 August 1881 – ) married Mary "Polly" Shiels on 23 August 1915
(Harry)
Norman Brookman (22 January 1884 – 26 April 1949) married Ada Mary Dorothy "Nan" Burden (24 April 1889 – 1975) on 6 March 1912.[21] Nan was the elder daughter of
Fred Burden.
Their son,
David Norman Brookman (24 March 1917 – 22 May 2000) was elected to the
House of Assembly seat of Alexandra in 1948 for the LCL and held it until 1973.
Howard Brookman (6 June 1886 – )
Their home was either "Craigmellon" at 3 Edwin Terrace,
Gilberton, or "Ivanhoe" at 9 Edwin Terrace.[22][23] He died on 27 June 1927 at "Blair Athol", Avenel Gardens, Medindie.[24] He was survived by his wife, his daughter, and two of his sons.[2]
^John Ragless Brookman was educated at Whinham College, the University of Adelaide and the SA School of Mines and Industries. He joined the Adelaide Electric Supply Company as a draughtsman in 1909 and was promoted to Engineer in 1913. He was awarded Master of Engineering in 1925 for his thesis on relay protection for electrical circuits. In 1947 he was appointed Deputy Manager and Engineer in charge of distribution and supply. He was a foundation member of the SA Institute of Engineers and in 1927 was Chairman of the SA division of the Institution of Engineers. He was a vice-president of the School of Mines and Industries. – Cumming, D. A. and Moxham, G. They Built South Australia published by the authors 1986
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