Henry Wills Rischbieth | |
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Born | |
Died | March 27, 1925 | (aged 55)
Nationality | British Subject |
Henry Wills Rischbieth (26 January 1870, Glenelg, South Australia – 27 March 1925, London, England) was a prominent [1] Australian grazier and wool merchant, described as "one of Western Australia's best known and enterprising businessmen." [2]
He was the husband of Bessie Rischbieth, a South Australian feminist, social activist, and campaigner for women's rights.
Rischbieth was born in Glenelg in the colony of South Australia to Charles Rischbieth, a Hanover-born merchant and business leader, and Elizabeth Susan Wills. He studied at Prince Alfred College. [3]
A noted athlete in his youth, Rischbieth played Australian Rules Football for Norwood. [1] [4] While in England, he also played rugby, representing the North of England in a match against Scotland. [5]
Rischbieth learned the wool business during an extended visit to Bradford, England. [2] After returning to Australia, he moved to Western Australia in 1899, [6]: 153 settled in Peppermint Grove, and built Henry Wills & Co., a large grazing and wool business. [7]: 55 Rischbieth died in 1925 in London, [1] worth approximately 300,000 pounds. [3] He had been ill for some time and had sought medical treatment in Melbourne, Philadelphia, USA, [8] and finally England. [1]
Rischbieth married Bessie Mabel Earle at the Wesleyan Church in Kent Town [9]: 85 on 22 October 1898, [10]: 319 who became a prominent social reformer and advocate for women's rights. The couple did not have children. [11]
His father was businessman and colonist Charles Rischbieth. His cousin Oswald Rishbeth was a pioneer of academic geography in Britain.