John Acraman
| John Acraman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1829 England |
| Died | 22 June 1907 (aged 78) North Adelaide |
| Parent(s) |
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John Acraman (1829 – 22 June 1907) was a prominent businessman in the colony of South Australia, and has a place in the history of Australian football in that State.
John Acraman was born in England, a son of William Edward Acraman (c. 1800 – 27 November 1875) and Mary Acraman (c. 1801 – 9 February 1871) of Sidmouth, Devon, England. Theirs was an old and honorable Somersetshire family, whose surname was formerly spelled Akerman, or Ackerman. John's grandfather Daniel Wade Acraman, a Bristol businessman, was a noted connoisseur of art.
John Acraman's early days were spent at Bath, Somerset and Clifton, Bristol, and he was educated in both places. His father was a wealthy merchant and industrialist, owner of several East India ships. At Bristol he was nominally apprenticed to his father, in order that he might qualify for membership of the prestigious Society of Merchant Venturers.
His eldest brother Edward Daniel Acraman (c. 1825 – 20 January 1848) emigrated to Adelaide in 1846 and formed a partnership with James Cooke. He urged John to join him in South Australia, so he sailed from Bristol on the Appleton, consigned to Acraman, Cooke, & Co., arriving at the Semaphore in April 1848. The Appleton has additional significance to South Australia as the ship on which Charles Sturt returned to England in 1847, and gave John Acraman letters of introduction to Mr. Justice Cooper, John Morphett and Samuel Davenport, all of whom were subsequently knighted.
John walked to Port Adelaide, where he met Captain Scott, who told him how his brother had recently died. He immediately made his way to the house of his uncle. Mr. Castle, Hackham, at Morphett Vale, and there met among others Mr. (afterwards Justice) Gwynne and Mr. Klingender. He took Mr. Cooke as partner in his office in Flinders street. For months he boarded with R. E. Tapley in Gilbert street, then moved to the more convenient Clarendon Hotel in Hindley Street. He was next in a boarding house kept by Robert Hall, Adelaide's first daguerrotypist. Among his fellow-boarders were G. W. Hawkes, Erasmus Gower and George Green, the auctioneer.
In 1851 he visited India, but while in Calcutta heard news of the Victorian gold finds, and returned to Adelaide. The firm was able to capitalize on the increased demand, and made huge profits despite the shortage of staff, most able-bodied men having joined the rush. The firm opened a temporary branch in Melbourne, managed by James Cooke, and an office in Bendigo under Archibald Cooke. They purchased River Murray steamboats, which while the Murray was in flood proved the most efficient way of servicing the goldfields, and bullock teams and wagons, though not without risk: one bullock driver sold his dray, team and load, and was never seen again. A shipment of gold was lost when the Madagascar vanished without trace in 1853.
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