Edward Nucella Emmett
Edward Nucella Emmett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age England |
| Died | March 18, 1874 (aged 57) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, auctioneer, banker, politician |
| Years active | 1850s–1870s |
| Known for | Discovery of Hustler's Reef; founding Bendigo Bank; chairmanship of Sandhurst and Raywood municipalities; member of Victorian Legislative Council |
Edward Nucella Emmett (18 February 1817 – 18 March 1874) was an entrepreneur and political figure of English origin who briefly held a position in the Victorian Legislative Council in Australia.
Career
Emmett initially worked as an auctioneer in Adelaide, South Australia. Between 1852 and 1870, he resided in Bendigo, where he first engaged in gold mining before returning to his auctioneering profession. He is recognized for the discovery of the Hustler's Reef near Bendigo. Together with Hugh Smith, he established the Bendigo Bank, which was subsequently acquired by the Bank of Victoria. Additionally, Emmett founded a brewery and several mining enterprises.
To facilitate Bendigo’s growth, Emmett played a leading role in creating a dependable water supply through the formation of the Bendigo Waterworks Company in 1858 (now incorporated into Coliban Water). Due to insufficient government funding, he attracted private capital from investors based in Melbourne to finance this initiative, which sourced water from the Coliban River. Joseph Brady was appointed as the company’s inaugural engineer.
After 1870, Emmett moved to Sydney, where he took on roles as a broker, legal manager, and mining agent.
Government
Emmett received a nomination to the Victorian Legislative Council on 29 August 1853 but resigned shortly thereafter in September 1853. It is possible that he never formally assumed his seat following opposition expressed by a gold miners' assembly.[1][2] He was the first chairman of both the Sandhurst (Bendigo) municipal council and later the municipality of Raywood, serving as its inaugural chairman.[2]
Following the divestment of his banking interests, Emmett undertook various public duties including acting as town valuator and overseeing initial government land sales. He was also part of the first local court established in 1855 and served as mining registrar at Raywood in 1863.[1]
Family
Edward Emmett was the son of Henry James Emmett[3] and Mary Elizabeth Thompson Emmett (née Townsend), who emigrated from England to Van Diemen's Land in 1819.
He maintained two separate family relationships in South Australia; prior to 1857, he abandoned his common-law partner Sarah Ann Dolby along with their three children.[4] In 1849, he married Sarah Spottiswood Blackham,[5] relocating with her to Bendigo (then known as Sandhurst).
Following Emmett's passing, his widow and their sole surviving daughter Bertha returned to Bendigo. By 1876, they reportedly faced financial hardship and were supported by charitable assistance.[6] Later that year, Sarah remarried Archibald Forsyth.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedvic_parl - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedobit - ↑ E. T. Emmett, 'Emmett, Henry James (1783–1848)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ↑ "Destitute Board". South Australian Register. 23 December 1856.
- ↑ "Family Notices". South Australian Register. 24 March 1849.
- ↑ "SANDHURST". The Argus (Melbourne). 11 August 1876.
- ↑ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 November 1877.
- ↑ Martha Rutledge, 'Forsyth, Archibald (1826–1908)', Australian Dictionary of Biography.