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« on: Tuesday 02 August 11 11:20 BST (UK) »
As promised here is what I believe to be the story of his life, some guesswork yes but I hope not to far from the truth. So thank you all for your help.
William Harmer-Brown
Part 1
Born 2nd September 1890 the son of William Brown Master Mariner and Jeanetta Nee Beer in Formby, Ormskirk, Lancashire England. Christened on the 11th December 1892 at St. Mary's, Walton on Hill, Lancashire. his silver christening mug (which was US made) being given by an unknown person`with the initial CD.
Being born the son of a seaman he gained a deep interest in the sea and a love of all things nautical Joining HMS Conway as a boy cadet from which he graduated as an honours student circa 1913 being awarded a ceremonial sword, Atlas and an original copy of a pen and ink drawing of the conway autographed by the artist.
After he graduated he joined the RNR probably for the 1914 -1918 war then went to sea as a second leuitenant in the Merchant fleet frequently visiting Australia and New Zealand Which according to family stories he loved and expressed the dream of moving there and opening a school on seamanship and navigation.
In January 1911 his father died and he was with his mother at the time of the 1911 census in Carl Villa, Church Street, Roby Lancashire. I believe some time after this his mother moved to North Wales to be near his brother John.
Circa 1925 he arrived in Brisbane and stayed apparently abandoning his wife and children in the family home in England. I do not know the details of this. Renting accommodation at Scott Street, Hawthorn, Brisbane, Australia.
Around the same time he appeared to fall in with a local goverment official whom I believe was a confidence trixter encouraging him and a couple of other people to purchase shares in the River Transport Company of Australia Ltd company which had 1 million shares available, reportedly advertised as worth 5 shillings each, I understand he bought about 40,000 shares which would have represented a value of about £10,000 GBP at that time. I suspect he got a preferential rate on the shares, however using the advertised growth at as low as 4 pence each representing an outlay of only £169 so his outlay would have been much less than the registered capital was £250,000, however the company launched with a big flurry on the 11th August 1926 after this with large advertisements in the Brisbane press. I don't yet know what happened during the intervening time but in 1928 the company went into voluntary liquidation probably due to a lack of real liquid assets and sustainable income.
He must have been the major shareholder as his is the only name cropping up in the liquidation as being responsible for the repayments to other shareholders which would, most likely, have represented the advertised value of £10,000.
This was poor judgment on his behalf as the timing of this venture was bad and certainly for trying to find investors, as the 1920's wasn't a time of great prosperity for all Australians. Fore mostly the 1920's in Australia was a time of uncertainty, depressions were imminent and there was little economic growth or prosperity for most Australians. At the same time Australia was falling into increasing debt. Strikes, shootings, bombings and record unemployment rates where part of the 1920's which indicated a time of chaos not prosperity .The 1920's signaled the era of workers rights which also meant a time of conflict and turmoil. Trade Unions were initiated and they were the voice of workers and often organised strikes. An inquiry into wages found that inflation was causing Australians to get much less for their money than previous years, yet, wages were not adjusted accordingly. The government responded irresponsibly by implemented new acts against striking and using other methods such as deportation. In 1925 the British government decided to put the pound sterling back onto the Gold Standard at pre-1913 parity. This had the immediate effect of making British exports far less competitive in international markets. Because Australia pegged the Australian pound to the pound sterling, this also affected Australian terms of trade. The Falling export demand and commodity prices placed massive downward pressures on wages, particularly in industries such as coal mining. Due to falling prices, bosses were unable to pay the wages that workers wanted. The result was a series of crippling strikes in many sectors of the economy in the late 1920's. Coal miners' strikes in the winter of 1929 brought much of the economy to its knees.
The liquidation was heard in the Supreme court of Queensland No 40 of 1928 by Mr Justice MacNaughton and Mr Justice Webb under the companies act 1863 to 1913. Public accountant and liquidator Scott Stuart Crawford Mullin of Brisbane. Notice posted in Sydney Bulletin, Melbourne Argus and the South Australian Register. Mario Francis Torazzi had claim. It is my suspicion that William may have skipped the country at this time or was in the south east ready to skip.
Part 2 in next post
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