Emanuel Solomon | |
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Member of the South Australian House of Assembly for West Adelaide | |
In office 1862–1865 |
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Member of the South Australian Legislative Council | |
In office 1867–1871 |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1800 London, England |
Died | 3 October 1873 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
Resting place | West Terrace Cemetery |
Relations | Judah Moss Solomon, nephew |
Emanuel Solomon (1800 – 3 October 1873) was a businessman and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia
Emanuel was born in London, a son of Samuel Moss Solomon (c. 1769 – 13 May 1842) and his first wife Elizabeth née Moses (c. 1772–c. 1814). He and his brother Vaiben Solomon (1802 – 21 June 1860) were transported to Sydney and served time for larceny, arriving on 1 May 1818 aboard the Lady Castlereagh
He arrived in South Australia in 1837 and was one of the founders of the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation.
He founded the Queen's Theatre, Adelaide with brother Vaiben and occasional involvement of nephew Judah Moss Solomon (1818–1880), father of Vaiben Louis Solomon.
In 1848 he and Matthew Smith purchased 85 acres (34 ha) of land on Spencer Gulf and subdivided it as a township to be known as Port Pirie. Little development occurred on site and by the late 1860s there were only three woolsheds on the riverfront. It was later re-surveyed and became Port Pirie's suburb Solomontown, commonly referred to as "Solly".
Solomon is commemorated for the generosity he provided to Mary MacKillop. In November 1871 he gave the Sisters of St. Joseph, who had been evicted from their convent, a house rent free.
In December 1871 he hosted a reception for 500 early settlers of South Australia to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the colony. Photographer Henry Jones took photographs of most if not all of those who were invited to attend. He presented a large composite photograph to Solomon, and in 1910 another was purchased from Jones by T. R. Bowman and donated to the Public Library for display in the entrance foyer.
He was elected to the seat of West Adelaide in the South Australian Legislative Assembly in November 1862, with James Crabb Verco as his colleague, and resigned in 1865. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1867 and retired in September 1871.