Walter Randolph Carpenter
| Sir Walter Randolph Carpenter | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 October 1877 |
| Died | 1 February 1954 (aged 76) |
| Residence | Singapore, Australia, Fiji, Canada |
| Nationality | Australian, Canadian |
| Known for | Entrepreneur, Businessman, Philanthropist |
Sir Walter Randolph Carpenter (1877–1954) was an Australian-Canadian pearl hunting, trader, merchant, ship-owner, airline industry leader and philanthropist of American ancestry active in the western Pacific from the 1890s through the 1940s.
In 1891, Carpenter left school at age 14 to join the Sydney office of Burns, Philp & Co, Limited. In 1895, he was transferred to the firm's office at Esperance, Western Australia, and in 1896 to the Thursday Island, Queensland office. In 1899, he resigned from Burns Philp, bought three luggers and established a family pearl-shelling business, J. B. Carpenter & Sons Ltd., of which he was managing director. In 1908, leaving his brother William Carpenter in charge, he left Thursday Island and rejoined Burns Philp. After a year at the company's offices in Sydney, he moved to Fiji and managed a subsidiary company purchased by Burns Philp.
In 1914 he formed the firm of W. R. Carpenter & Co. Ltd. in Sydney, and began establishing plantations, stores, trading stations, shipping services in the Southwest Pacific. When World War I erupted, he capitalized on the importance of copra for making munitions and as a food, and took enormous risks with resulting large profits which enabled his company to expand into New Guinea when the Australian government expropriated German property. The company branched out as major storekeepers, traders, and property owners in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, establishing W. R. Carpenter & Co. (Papua New Guinea) Ltd. in 1919 and W. R. Carpenter & Co. (Solomon Islands) Ltd. in 1922.
In New Guinea, Carpenter took advantage of the development of the Morobe gold fields to acquire hotels in Wau and Bulolo, set up electrical power plants and cold storage facilities, and operate a fleet of inter-island steamers and a desiccated-coconut factory. In 1933 he established the first air service between Salamaua and Wau with two De Havilland Fox Moth aircraft, followed in 1934 by a direct shipping line between Australia, the Western Pacific, and European ports. In 1935 he launched an insurance company and in 1936 expanded his airline through a government-subsidized route between Rabaul and Australia.
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