Horn, William Austin (1841 - 1922)

Summary

William Horn was involved in the early development of Australia's mining industry. His interests included the development of copper mines; as a Director of the Silverton mine in New South Wales; and as an early shareholder of Broken Hill Proprietary Co. He also owned a large station in South Australia where he ran sheep. Between 1887 and 1893 Horn was the Member for Flinders in the South Australian House of Assembly. In this role he was noted for his material support of those of his constituents who fell on hard times. Horn was a well-known philanthropist. He made several substantial donations to South Australia's art gallery. The Horn Scientific Exploring Expedition was equipped at his expense and he accompanied the early stages of the Expedition. In 1911 he contributed £1,000 to the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Horn moved to the United Kingdom in 1898 having sold most of his assets, making only brief return visits to South Australia in later years.

Details

Chronology

1887 - 1893

Career position - Member for Flinders, South Australian House of Assembly

1894

Career event - Sponsor, Horn Scientific Exploring Expedition

1911

Career event - Financial contributor, Australasian Antarctic Expedition

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Brown, Judith M., 'Horn, William Austin (1841 - 1922), mining magnate, pastoralist and politician' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 9: 1891 - 1939 Gil-Las, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1983), pp. 367-369. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/horn-william-austin-6734. Details

Edited Books

• Spencer, Baldwin ed., Report on the work of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia, 4 vols (London: Melbourne: Dulau and Co.: Melville, Mullen and Slade, 1896). Details