Alfred Felton

Alfred Felton (8 November 1831 – 8 January 1904) was an Australian entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist.

Alfred Felton was born at Maldon, Essex, England, the fifth child of six sons and three daughters of William Felton, a currier, and his wife Hannah. Felton travelled to Victoria on the ship California in 1853 intending to search for gold.

In 1857, he was in business in Collins Street, Melbourne, as a commission agent and dealer in merchandise, and in 1859 was an importer and general dealer. In 1861 he was in business in Swanston Street as a wholesale druggist.

In 1867 Felton went into partnership with Frederick Sheppard Grimwade and founded Felton Grimwade and Company, wholesale druggists and manufacturing chemists. As the business grew over the years, the partners acquired interests in associated industries such as Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, and Cuming Smith and Company, makers of artificial manures.

Felton also purchased two large estates, Murray Downs and Langi Kal Kal in Partnership with merchant and pastoralist Charles Gordon Campbell, a founding partner in Cuming Smith and Company. Upon Felton's death, his share in the Estates were sold to Campbell.

Felton's wants were few and he never married. He gave away considerable amounts to charity, and formed large collections of pictures and books which at times threatened to push him out of his rooms at the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda, near Melbourne. He died there on 8 January 1904.

In 2005, Melbourne Grammar Grimwade House opened "The Alfred Felton Hall" in honour of Felton.

Alfred Felton had no direct descendants. In his will, he established a philanthropic trust, known as the Felton Bequest. The Bequest has been established to support culture and the community, with half the funding benefiting Victorian charities (particularly those that support women and children) and the other half used to acquire and donate art works to the National Gallery of Victoria. After the payment of legacies and probate duties, the residue of the estate was £378,033, a huge sum, the equivalent of about A$35 million at 2000 values. The Gallery selected a number of works from Felton's personal collection for retention by it, and the remainder was sold at auction, the proceeds being added to the Bequest.

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