Merchant and stockbreeder Sir Samuel Hordern (1876-1956) was a former resident of Strathfield. He purchased ‘Tuxedo’ 87 Albert Road Strathfield in March 1900, upon his marriage to Charlotte See (daughter of Sir John See, NSW Premier).
Samuel Hordern (known as Samuel Hordern Junior until the death of his father Samuel Hordern in 1909) was the eldest son of Samuel Hordern, the grandson of Anthony Hordern of the Anthony Hordern & Sons retail empire and the chief controller of the Anthony Hordern & Sons business between the death of his father in 1909 and the sale of the retail business in 1926 to public investors. Anthony Hordern & Sons was one of Sydney’s great retailers known as the “universal provider’, which at one stage employed over 4000 staff.
Hordern was a man of many interests. He was a council member of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, president of the Master Retailers’ Association, a vice-president of the Employers’ Federation of New South Wales, chairman of the Australian Mutual Provident Society in 1932-47, and a director of the Royal Insurance Co. Ltd, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Perpetual Trustee Co. He was a director of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1913-39 and chairman in 1933-34. Outside of his retail interests, he is best known for his service as president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales from 1915-41. Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion is named for him. Hordern is credited for the growth of the Royal Easter Show from a small fair to one of the world’s greatest agricultural shows. Hordern was a keen stockbreeder of thoroughbred mares, hunters, ponies, cattle and fox terriers. He was a committee member of the Australian Jockey Club from 1917 to 1944 and in 1919 won the Melbourne Cap with the horse “Artilleryman”. His interest in sport included membership of the Concord and Royal Sydney Golf Clubs and he was an early member of the (Royal) Automobile Club and president in 1910-12 and 1914-30. He was knighted in 1919 and appointed K.B.E. in 1938.
In July 1914, Hordern sold ‘Tuxedo’ and moved to ‘Babworth House’ at Point Piper.
Reference
Jones, C ‘Tuxedo’, Strathfield District Historical Society Newsletter, July-August 2010
Strathfield Heritage 