Mordecai Solomon (1800 -1883) and Elizabeth Haines (1809 - 1852)

Myer Solomon (1837-1906)

Myer was the second child, and eldest son, of Mordecai and Elizabeth Solomon. He was one of three of Mordecai’s children born at Solomon’s Creek, Dapto, NSW.

By 1855 Myer owned several properties in Bourke Street and Dowling Street, in Sydney. It is interesting that, by the age of 18, he had been able to amass property however they may have been gifts from his father.

He married Julia Rebecca Barnett at the York Street Synagogue on 20 August 1856.

At the time he married Julia he gave his address as 194 Macquarie Street Sydney a house which later became the home of the son of David Jones, the founder of the store founded in 1838.

Julia was the third of four daughters of Samuel and Rebecca Barnett (nee Hart).

Samuel was born in London in 1803. He came to the colony as a convict aboard the Marquis of Huntley arriving in 1826. He received his ticket of leave 1831, a conditional pardon on 20th November 1837 and an absolute pardon on 1st February 1843.

Samuel died on 16th November 1864 at 442 Pitt Street South.

Rebecca arrived in Sydney 17 December 1833 aboard the “Layton”, a ship owned by Sir Joseph Banks.

She and Samuel married in 1834 whilst he was still a “ticket of leave” man.

Rebecca died in 1881 at the age of 62.

Rebecca’s Death Notice

In April 1857 Myer placed a notice in the SMH stating "I have appointed my father, Mr. M. SOLOMON to collect my rents and act as my attorney during my absence from the colony".

On 4th May, 1857, Julia and Myer travelled to London on the "Oneida" steamer. Their oldest child, Montague, was born in England in 1857 before the three travelled back to Sydney, where Myer established a trading business.

It was here that Elizabeth was born in 1859.

Word that gold had been discovered in the Young district of NSW enticed Myer and Julia from Sydney in 1861. They established a general store at Wombat later that year, with Myer also gaining several gold leases.

It was here at Wombat their other children were born:

· Samuel in 1863

· Isaac in 1867

· Mordecai in 1866

· Abraham in 1871

· Lewis in 1873

· Henry in 1875, and

· Jane in 1877

Myer’s general store was held up by Ben Hall’s bushrangers on 21 February 1863. Hall’s gang included Patsey Daley, John O’Meally and Johnny Gilbert who were dressed in police uniforms. They bailed-up and stole £250 worth of goods from the Solomons.

The Burrangong Star reported in February 1863:

On Saturday afternoon, about 4 o’clock, four men accoutred as troopers, rode up to this store with three pack-horses. Upon entering they bailed up the inmates. Mr. Solomon fired at one of them and grazed his neck – he suspects, and states, that they were Gardiner, Gilbert, John O’Mealley, and his cousin. A young lad in Mr Solomon’s’ employ, presented a revolver at one of the bushrangers, and was about to fire, when the bushranger, supposed to be Gardiner, placed a revolver at the head of Mrs Solomon, and threatened to blow her brains out if he did. Whilst this was going on the bushrangers coolly commenced to sort and pack up such goods in the store as they fancied-selecting some prints and female clothing, which they remarked would suit the women. Taking up some tins of lollies, they began to eat them, remarking that they would do for the children. Some gin was in a bottle, which they took, but before drinking they compelled Mrs Solomon to swallow a portion of it, fearing, perhaps, it was poisoned. The time they were in the store was about two hours and a half, and whilst they were there, they made use of the most flash, disgusting language-cracked their ribald jests, and whilst plundering their unfortunate victim, coolly drank his gin and consumed his lollies. The ruffian, supposed to be Gardiner, ordered and directed everything that was to be done, pushing and swearing, at the others if they did not obey his orders quick enough. Some remarks having been made by Mr Solomon about the police at Wombat Camp, one of them said – “What do we care about the bloody police? We will muster a force, go into Lambing Flat, and stick-up the bloody camp there”. They also told Solomon not to be too flash or they would serve him like they did the man at Stoney Creek, who was “too flash, and blow his bloody brains out, as they did his”. The goods stolen and carried away were clothing of all descriptions, both for men and women; amongst the rest 50 pairs of Bedford cord trousers, rations and firearms of all kinds, with ammunition, they did not leave even one for Mr. S, to protect himself with. Saddles, bridles, and jewellery, fortunately they took only the plated, not of much value; the valuable jewellery was in a case which they could not easily open, and therefore left it behind. Two horses, one of which they fancied for a saddle horse, being a very fine animal; the other they used as a pack-horse. Solomon estimates his loss at about £200.

Another commentary on the event recounted how when riding away Daley must have looked less like a bushranger than the youth that he was. He had two hats perched on his head and socks on each side of his neck filled with lollies.

In fact, in an almost biblical twist, Myer would subsequently identify Daley by laying his hand on his shoulder and asking him, "have you eaten the lollies yet".

This droll sense of humour is a hallmark of all of Myer’s descendants I have met. For example, in the book “What Price Surrender” by Des Jackson, my own father, Eric (son of Henry) is recounted using similar humour on the day in 1945 he was liberated from being a Japanese POW in Thailand.

In 1867 Myer bought land and changed the location of his store elsewhere in Wombat.

Myer gained a license for the general store, which had also sold wine and spirits, in December 1876. It became known as the Royal and a hotel has remained on this site to this day.

He sold the pub and returned to Sydney in 1880, where he lived in Surry Hills and continued a successful trading business.

Myer died aged 68 at his residence in Bourke Street Surry Hills in September 1906.

Julia, who taste tested the bushrangers’ gin before sale, would have had an entertaining dinner story to tell London’s elite when she returned to England to live out her remaining years after her husband’s death. She died there aged 71 in 1911.

As was not unusual at the time Myer’s two youngest children, Henry and Jane, married a brother and sister who were born in Wellington, New Zealand. They were respectively Maria and Hyam Scott (Scott was the anglicised version of their father’s name, Schottlander). Maria and Hyam’s father, Abraham Schottlander was originally from what is now Wroclaw in Poland but formerly Breslau in Prussia.

Myer’s children lived for varying periods:

· Montague died 1931 aged 74

· Elizabeth died in the year of her birth, 1859, and her death may have been the reason Myer and Julia sought a new life out of Sydney

· Samuel died 1918 aged 55

· Isaac died 1926 aged 59

· Abraham died 1923 aged 52

· Henry died 1919 aged 44

· Jane died 1955 aged 78

· Mordecai died 1931 aged 65

· Lewis died 1945 aged 71

The children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren and beyond of Myer and Julia have entered every walk of Australian life and have, amongst other achievements:

Ø Fought in two world wars

Ø Survived Japanese Prisoner of war camps

Ø Survived sunken yachts in the yacht races

Ø Founded major financial institutions or served as Directors of them

Ø Directed the IT businesses of major institutions

Ø Become solicitors and barristers in many parts of the country and partners in major law firms

to name a few areas of endeavour in which they have entered and excelled.

[Geoffrey Solomon]

(Myer’s great grandson and Henry’s grandson)

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