page_title: Vaiben Solomon
section_title: Prosperity
hierarchical_section_title: Vaiben Solomon / Prosperity
caption_attribution_description: English: Horningsea Park
context_page_description: Vaiben Solomon was a London Jew who, with his brother Emanuel Solomon, was transported for larceny to New South Wales in 1818. He had further brushes with the law but seized business opportunities and became quite prosperous. He and his brother were then joined by a contingent of brothers and sisters who made their mark in New South Wales and South Australian business and politics.
context_section_description: The means by which Emanuel and Vaiben made their way from poor emancipists to relative affluence is by no means clear but must have been by a series of small-time trading and gradual accretion. But by July 1826 he was in a position to begin employing labour, having written to the authorities to have the convict David Myers assigned to him at his business in King Street, Sydney. By 1928 he had premises to let at 74 George Street, which may have fallen through, as the following year the two brothers were in partnership at that same address. They continued in partnership for over ten years, buying and selling whenever they could see a financial advantage. In 1831 Vaiben bought into the Jamieson subdivision.
  In 1836 he opened a tailoring establishment in George Street, and in September that year purchased 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land in Brighton.
  He maintained the partnership with his brother Emanuel, for a time acting as agents for the ship Nereus, and when Emanuel moved to Adelaide, acting as agents for each other. They owned the brig Dorset, which ferried goods and passengers between the two cities, often making the return trip in 30 days. They built the Queen's Theatre, Adelaide in 1840, just in time for the Depression brought about by Governor Grey's financial stringency following Governor Gawler's profligacy. The theatre, managed by John Lazar, folded after a year. As trade between the two colonies dried up, and with increased competition from rival brig Emma, relations between the two brothers became strained, Emanuel accusing Vaiben of insufficient zeal and lack of communication. In 1844 Emanuel made it to Sydney to confront Vaiben; they dissolved partnership. Coincidentally, and largely due to the opening of copper mines in Burra and Kapunda, the economy of South Australia rebounded and Emanuel, who had by virtue of the strictest economy, retained most of his assets, profited hugely in partnership with his young nephew Judah Moss Solomon; his shares in the South Australian Mining Association repaid him handsomely.
  Vaiben did not reach quite the same peak of wealth and prestige, but he was still hugely wealthy, as evidenced by the wills of his spinster daughters. He and his sons David, Abraham and Saul, in partnership as V. Solomon and Sons, purchased in 1855 the 500 acres (200 ha) estate "Horningsea", near Liverpool, New South Wales, with its grand, but somewhat dilapidated, mansion, and renamed it Horningsea Park. Vaiben and his family lived there and ran the farm.
  Vaiben withdrew from the partnership in April 1857. His sons continued as D., A. & S. Solomon; they left the district in 1872. During his life Vaiben accumulated a considerable portfolio of properties.
caption: Horningsea Park, restored and 
   now heritage-listed
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