Hilton Brown's Genealogy

This site contains the genealogical details of my family. Anyone who is able to provide me with additional information is encouraged to do so. My paternal grandfather, ALFRED (pictured above with his wife and children), was born in the village of Long Clawson, approximately six miles (ten kilometres) from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. Historic maps prepared by Ordnance Survey, UK, show the layout of the village in the late 1800s. To quote my father: "ALFRED was the youngest of nine children. He left school at the age of twelve and was apprenticed as a baker. At age twenty-one he decided his future lay elsewhere and Australia beckoned. He was passenger number 202 on the R.M.S. Ship "Oroya", the Master being Captain R. Studdert, which departed Plymouth, England, on 24 November 1888. The passengers totalled over 750 exclusive of the crew. Some Saloon passengers disembarked en route, which left those bound for Australia as: Saloon - 82 passengers, Second Saloon - 157, Third Class and Steerage - 505. From that total of 744, Melbourne was to receive 357." "The ship arrived in Port Philip Bay at 5:00 a.m. on 4 January 1889, and berthed at Station Pier, Williamstown, after a voyage of forty-two days. The voyage cost ALFRED twenty Pounds Sterling, which left him with only the proverbial "two bob" in his pocket on arrival. His first twelve months were spent around southern New South Wales, in ambient temperatures far beyond his previous experience. He was employed by a sheep farmer in what was known as "grubbing timber"; that is, digging out the roots of trees and generally clearing areas for grazing - extremely hard work for little pay. However he spent next to nothing and his "keep was found", so he finally returned to Melbourne with a small amount of savings." "From the time of his arrival in Australia, he hankered "to be his own boss". He figured that people always had to eat no matter how tough the times, so he decided to concentrate on selling food. As his first "business venture", he bought butter in bulk, cut and weighed it into pound (half kilogram) packages, and sold them from a basket, door to door, in the Port Melbourne area. He walked miles each day, and in the hot weather had great difficulty in keeping the butter from melting! A wet cloth helped a little, providing he moistened it several times a day." "Adhering to his ideas on food, his next venture was to open a fruit shop in Smith Street, Collingwood (Melbourne) where competition was strong from "fruit barrow" vendors. These barrowmen had almost no overhead costs, and thus were able to cut their prices very low. Consequently, business in Smith Street was very tough, so ALFRED moved to Chapel Street, Prahran (Melbourne) around 1895 and, for a period, worked for another fruiterer cum greengrocer who had two shops in the street. That fellow had "a strong liking for the bottle" and gradually lost control of his business. ALFRED, in time, purchased the goodwill and commenced what was to be his own successful business, specialising in nuts and fresh and dried fruits - he did not sell vegetables. His marriage to Mary was the genesis of his real progress, and they worked together in that shop in Chapel Street and lived at 107 High Street, Prahran for twenty-one years, until they ultimately retired in 1918." "He believed in absolutely top quality and was a pioneer in the type of business which had the adage "S.P.Q.R." (Small Profits Quick Returns). A visit to his shop was to enjoy the beautiful aroma emanating from the rows and tiers of cases of fruits, imported Jaffa oranges, lemons from Lisbon (when local supply was scarce) wrapped in coloured layers of gold and silver, large peaches ( two and three to the pound), hands of bananas from Fiji, sugar bananas, huge Queensland bananas, coconuts, walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts and beautiful daily-fresh roasted peanuts! There were boxes of imported dates, dried figs and tropical fruits - all sold at S.P.Q.R.! At Christmas time it was not unusual for him to sell as many as 150 bushel cases (that is, approximately 6,000 pounds or 2,700 kilograms) of delicious peaches, pound by pound, in three to four days trading." "By 1918 and his retirement, he had prospered comfortably, and in those twenty-one years in Chapel Street had acquired eight brick cottages for rental, as well as his own abode (which he called "Long Clawson" in memory of his roots). He and his wife had worked long hours together - an average of sixteen hours per day for six days a week! He did not actually sell the goodwill of his business. He gave it away because he was of the opinion that he could not accept money from a newcomer who may not continue in the same successful way in what was a specialised business in that particular trade." I arranged for his name to be inscribed on the Welcome Wall at the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia as an immigrant who arrived by sea. The Wall was unveiled on 24 January 1999.

	hiltonb@jedi.apana.org.au
	37/8 Munro Street, McMahons Point NSW 2060, AUSTRALIA
	+ 61 2 9929 7296
	+ 61 2 9922 2328