Early Australian Silversmiths

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WATERBURY WATCH Co.

56, Margaret Street, Sydney


Waterbury Watch Co. - Sydney - 1892

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WILLIAM KERR (I)

Collins Street, Melbourne

Advertised the following goods in 1840:

JEWELLERY, CUTLERY, &c.

Silver snuff and scent boxes, a great variety.
Gold Watch Seals and Keys.
Gold and Silver Pencil cases.
Silver and Papier Mache Cigar cases.
Silver Butter, Cheese, and Fruit Knives.
Silver and Papier Mache Card cases.
Silver Pickle and Oyster Forks.
Gold and Silver Thimbles.
Silver Cigar Tubes and Holders.
Purses; Silver Purse-clasp and Rings.
Silver-bound Ivory Tablets.
Silver, Gilt, and Steel Scissors.
Silver Desk Seals, ivory handles.
Silver Stilletoes, Tweezers and Tongue Scrapers.
Mahogany, Rosewood and Niagara Writing Desks.
Rosewood and Niagara Work Boxes, inlaid with pearl.
Mahogany, Rosewood, and Russian Maple Tea Caddies.
Rosewood and Niagara Netting Boxes, Card Cases, &c.
Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Dressing Cases.
Backgammon Boards and Chess-men.
German Silver Pencil Cases and Pen Holders.
Razors of the finest temper and quality.
Pen and Pocket Knives in great variety.
Silver Taper-stands, Caddie-shells, Sugar-spoons, and a great variety of valuable goods too numerous for the limits of an advertisement.

Source: Latest Information with Regard to Australia Felix, the Finest Province of the Great Territory of New South Wales ; Including the History, Geography, Natural Resources, Government, Commerce, and Finances of Port Phillip ; Sketches of the Aboriginal Population and Advice to Immigrants - George Arden - 1840

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WILLIAM KERR (II)

574, later, 542-544, George Street, Sydney

W. Kerr, eleven years principal manufacturing jeweller to Hardy Brothers, Hunter Street has great pleasure in informing his numerous friends and the public generally, that he has taken those centrally situated premises 574, George Street, opposite St. Andrews Cathedral and is now open with a well assorted stock of the newest designs in English ans colonial made jewellery. Also a stock of clocks and watches from the best makers. Every description of jewellery made and repaired on the premises, watches, clocks, musical boxes and fancy articles repaired. N.B. Medals of every description, Masonic jewels and presentation trowels designed and manufactured on the shortest notice.

Source: The Illustrated Sydney News - 7th February 1876


A Jeweller's Shop Robbed

Shortly before 3 o'clock on Saturday morning a constable who had just been relieved from duty discovered that the window in the jewellery establishment of Mr. W. Kerr, George -street, opposite the Town Hall, had been broken. He immediately awakened Mr. Kerr, who sleeps on the premises, and an examination showed that the window had been smashed with the aid of a tomahawk, which was found lying amongst the jewellery in the window. The thief, to break the window, had to climb a high railing which protects it, and smash the glass at some distance from the ground. Just above where the glass had been broken were a couple of trays containing rings, brooches, etc., which were taken. An examination showed that about 25 gentlemen's gold rings, 40 breast pins, and half-a-dozen brooches were missing, valued in all about £100. While searching outside, the policeman picked up a handful of rings scattered about the footpath, which the thief had evidently dropped in the hurry of getting away. It was stated that when a policeman passed the shop at 2 o'clock everything was in perfect order.

Source: The Sydney Mail - 31st August 1901



William Kerr was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1839, he arrived in Australia in the early 1860's, and died on the 9th August 1896. He business was to carry on until 1938, under the control of three of his six sons, William T. Kerr, Walter Laird Kerr and Harry C. Kerr.

Source: Nineteenth Century Australian Silver - Volume One - J. B. Hawkins - 1990

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JOHN TOZER

Corner of Charles and Brisbane Streets, Launceston


John Tozer - Launceston - 1850

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DRAEGER BROTHERS

55, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne


Draeger Brothers - Melbourne - 1881

55, Elizabeth Street was occupied by the firm of Draeger & Kellinghausen during the period 1877-1879. They were also recorded at 40, Little Bourke Street West, in 1862, 195, Swanston Street, in 1880-1884, and at 61, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in 1885.

A William Draeger was noted at 72, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, in 1872-1876

An Otto Draeger was noted at 316, Sydney Road, Brunswick, in 1884-1895

The firm of C.H. Draeger & Co., was noted at 213, Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, in 1884-1885.

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JAMES FINLAY

Market Square, Geelong


James Finlay - Geelong - 1854

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CHARLES SCHAEFER

Geelong

SUPREME COURT: VICTORIA

Insolvency, Ecclesiastical, and Matrimonial Cases




Source: The Victorian Reports - Volume 3 - 1872

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WILLIAM BENNETT

Bridge Street, Ballarat


William Bennett - Ballarat - 1869

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WILLIAM PATERSON

11, Market Square, Geelong


Wm. Paterson - Geelong - 1854

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T. YOUNG & SON

38, Little Collins Street West, Melbourne


T. Young & Son - Melbourne - 1881

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J. HAMMERTON & SON

Little Ryrie Street, Geelong


J. Hammerton & Son - Geelong - 1902

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A. EBNETTER

Maryborough

The Queensland jewellery Robbery.

According to recent advices from Melbourne, the entire proceeds, or nearly so, of a jewellery robbery committed at Maryborough, Queensland, on May 10 last, were recovered by the Melbourne detective police on June 25 last. The goods were stolen from the premises of Mr. A. Ebnetter, a jeweller carrying on business at Maryborough, and the whole property was valued at £1,500. Lists of the goods were forwarded to all the colonies, and distributed amongst the various licensed pawnbrokers. It was by these means that the first clue was obtained, which has led not only to the detection of the offenders, but to the recovery in a very remarkable manner of the missing jewellery. On Saturday, June 16, Mr. Mackay, a jeweller at South Melbourne, informed the head of detective police here that he had purchased from a working jeweller named Chas. Jacobs Derbert, four gold watches for £20, and that on comparing the numbers with those on the stolen property lists he discovered that the articles formed part of the proceeds of the Maryborough robbery. Detectives Nixon, Cawsey and Wordley were entrusted with the investigation of the affair, and on the following day arrested Derbert and a German named Alf Harman, from whom Derbert said he had obtained the goods. In the meantime another of the stolen watches turned up at Richmond, having been pawned there by a woman who gave her name as Rose Porter. This person was also arrested, and subsequently the officers arrested her husband, Robert Porter, who was believed to be the principal in the affair. These arrests resulted in the recovery altogether of six gold watches and six silver watches, all bearing numbers corresponding with those upon Mr. Ebnetter's list. Porter before his arrest had been watched whilst he went to the Richmond paddock, where, it appears, he had planted the booty in a furze bush near the cricket ground. The detectives followed him, but when he opened the cache it was found to be empty. It was evident that the robber had been robbed. The detectives discovered that a person who had been confided in by Porter had collared the booty and had concealed it in the Lizzy Lilly Dale ranges, about 25 miles from town. They proceeded there, and after wandering up and down the range for nearly two hours their attention was attracted by a small mound of fern leaves which had all the appearance of having been recently erected. Scraping this away, they found a black leather bag, which, on being opened, was found to contain 26 gold watches, 112 silver watches and a large quantity of minor articles, including earrings, scarfpins, bracelets, bangles, pencilcases, studs, &c, in all worth between £900 and £1,000 and weighing about 50 lb. All the articles were mixed together, but were in a good state of preservation, and had not suffered to any great extent by the usage to which they had been subjected. The spot where the bag was found was in a paddock in a very unfrequented place, about 300 or 400 yards from the State school. The detectives returned to town with the recovered property. Though this does not complete the list of the articles returned as stolen, the detectives don't anticipate being able to recover any more, as the fact that amongst the collection there are several works without casings, shows that melting down has been done.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st September 1888

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K.G. LUKE Pty Ltd.

28-58 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North, Melbourne



K.G. Luke Australia - Melbourne - 1974


Member vetraio5 wrote:

Paramount is one of the names used by a silver firm "K.G. Luke" of Melbourne, Australia.
K.G. Luke Pty Ltd. electro plate manufacturers factory, 28-58 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North, Melbourne Victoria.
"In 1921 Kenneth Luke became a partner in a small metal-spinning and silverware business at Carlton. By 1925 he was its proprietor and an employer of seven. These employees were still with him thirty years later, with 650 others, making an ever-increasing range of products: silverware, stainless steel surgical equipment, plated goods and glass-washing machines. In 1929 he bought a larger factory in Queen's Parade, Fitzroy (since redeveloped), doubled his staff and introduced new lines. At the outbreak of World War 2 production was again stepped up and Luke became an honorary adviser to the Department of Supply and Shipping. Luke went on to achieve many major public roles. In 1938-55 he was president of the Carlton Football Club. A delegate (from 1935) to the Victorian Football League, he was its vice president (1946-55) and president (1956-71). With post-war growth generating record crowds, he consolidated central administration and professionalised the game for players." (http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/s ... nce/104097

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Luke

Another line you will see from the factory in the fifties and 60's is "Carousel" a range that has enamel colours.
Paramount was ubiquitous in the post war period in Australia.

Also important because of the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne:
"K.G. Luke was a private mint that made 1956 Olympic Games medals for the Numismatic Association of Victoria, as well as a considerable number of other medals and trophies. It operated at least between 1937 and 1974, according to medals illustrated in Carlisle's Australian Commemorative Medals and Medalets.
E. Angus Jones was sometime Chair of a company called K.G. Luke, which may or may not relate to the mint of the same name. KG Luke Group Industries Ltd changed its name to Luke Limited on 20 December 1976. Luke Limited was taken over by National Consolidated Limited on 19 October 1983.
Industrial action at K.G. Luke and other metal companies in or about the early 1970s won differential increases which leveled up over-award payments between the sexes." (http://museumvictoria.com.au/collection ... a?t=Object


On the related topic mentioned about equal pay in the Australian Metal Industry and K.G. Luke, I found an interesting article here:

FIGHTING FOR EQUAL PAY
The Australian metal industry 1969-1972
"An interesting comparison can be drawn between the gaining of equal pay in the metal industry and the experience of those unions that did not pursue the issue industrially. Some unions, such as that of the bank officers, attempted to gain equal pay through solely legalistic rather than industrial means. This was a failure. If the letter of the 1969 decision had been applied (as it was to the bank workers when their union went to the Commission in November 1969), women in the metal industry would also have received nothing. Yet about 90 per cent had equal pay by the start of 1972 as a result of the campaign. In those areas where there were still inequalities, industrial action continued. John Halfpenny, Victorian State Secretary of the AEU at the time, explained that "The over-award payments assumed great importance because at a certain time they actually constituted about 30 per cent of a metalworker’s wages ... When equal pay was established in the award ... the employers’ attention then turned to the over-award payments, to make sure they remained unequal ... [That was] basically outside the Commission’s jurisdiction to arbitrate on". When asked how the union had dealt with this, he replied, "Collective bargaining they call it nowadays". For example, at Email, the electrical appliance manufacturer, a series of stopwork meetings by members, most of them women, won increased over-award payments of $3.50 a week for women and $1 for men. The extra money for women was part of a union-wide campaign for equal over-award payments. Similar action at the same workplace and at K.G. Luke won further differential increases which leveled up over-award payments between the sexes.

By contrast, the union which covered workers in the insurance industry was even more timid than the bank officers’ union. Having been refused negotiations about equal pay by the insurance employers in 1969, and disheartened by the Commission’s rejection of the bank officers’ application of that year, their leaders failed to take any further action over the issue until July 1972. As a result, women insurance workers did not get even a semblance of equal pay until late 1975."

http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/inter ... ualpay.htm


Example of the work and marks attributed to K.G. Luke Pty Ltd:



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C. BAIN

69, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

WANTED: A journeyman watchmaker and working jeweller, apply Mr C. Bain, 69, Elizabeth Street.

Source: The Argus - 7th May 1852

C. Bain was located at 69, Elizabeth Street until at least 1854.

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THOMAS JOHNSON

Bridge Street, Ballarat


Thos. Johnson - Ballarat - 1869

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A.E. BRATLEY

Moorabool Street, South Geelong


A.E. Bratley - South Geelong - 1902

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Alfred Edwin Bratley is listed as a watchmaker on Australian Electoral Rolls in Geelong from at least 1903 through 1931.

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HANNEMANN & TOWNS

279, Little Collins Street, Melbourne

At the present time, says the 'Melbourne Age' when there has been considerable debate in certain quarters as to the quality of the work produced by colonial manufacturing jewellers, it is of interest to note any extension of this branch of local industry. Messrs. Hannemann and Towns have opened a new establishment in the old premises of Massina and Co., at 279, Little Collins Street, where unbelievers can see the manufacture of the best kinds of jeweller's work finished equal to any in Paris or London. In the warehouse, fitted up with glass cases and large iron safes, you see gold racing cups, gold mounted whips, silver cups of all kinds, and ruby, pearl and emerald rings and pins. But the speciality here is diamond work, such as tiaras, sprays, stars, pendants and necklets. All the best kind of diamond work is artistically set in silver and backed with gold. As Messrs. Hannemann and Towns are manufacturers for the trade, the destination of many of these costly articles is unknown. The most expensive piece of diamond work ever turned out in the colonies, just finished at this factory, may possibly figure on some fair lady's neck as a Parisian production. Every detail of the goldsmith's and jeweller's art can be seen here. The initial process is in the melting and finishing room, which is fitted up with large smelting furnaces. Here you see ingot moulds and plate mould of all sizes, in which the gold is cast. The precious metal is received in the raw state, and then made workable by smelting and refining, and afterwards alloyed to the different standards used–from 15 to 22 carats. It is then rolled in different mills to the various sizes required by the jeweller. There are other rolling mills in the workshop, with polishing lathes, wire mills and draw benches. At these and at various vices workmen, young and old, are seated making various articles of jewellery, from a simple brooch pin to a highly artistic diamond spray. The older workmen are the best skilled mechanics of the old country, the younger have served their apprenticeship in Australia, but in powers of execution are no whit behind their elder shopmates. Messrs. Hannemann and Towns show designs and executed orders in diamond work of the most elegant kind. Yet Australian workmanship should call for the exercise of Australian art, and it is to be hoped that in time our wealthy dames will be proud to wear colonial work of colonial design instead of imported, or colonial work passed off by them as Parisian.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st February 1890



Hannemann & Towns was recorded as being located at 289, Bourke Street, in 1889, at 279, Little Collins Street, from 1890-1892, and then at 374, Little Collins Street, from 1893-1895.

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SEPTIMUS WILSON

High Street, St. Kilda, Melbourne

Wilson, Septimus, St. Kilda, practical chronometer and watch maker, and optician, High-street. Mr. Wilson's business was established by Mr. Cadby about 1880, and Mr. E. H. Wilson, brother of Mr. S. Wilson, kept the shop for a few years, after which the latter purchased the business. Mr. S. Wilson is a native of England, who came to Victoria in 1861. He was in business in Hamilton seven years, then in Warrnambool three years, and finally came to Melbourne, and settled in his present premises.

Source: Source: Victoria and its Metropolis, Past and Present - Alexander Sutherland - 1888

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J. HARDIE

High Street, Sandhurst


J. Hardie - Sandhurst - 1862

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