The late Mr. Nathaniel Edmund Phillipson
THERE are so many risks attached to sheep and cattle-breeding in the far north country of South Australia, that it is almost exceptional to find a man who has made such undertakings remunerative. This part of the Province has accomplished the downfall of many men who have staked scores of thousands of pounds on the chances of a fortune. It is said that of those who have made pastoral pursuits a success in these remote areas, the late Mr. Nathaniel Edmund Phillipson and Mr. Peter Waite were the most successful.
Stump & Co., Photo
Mr. Phillipson was one of the shrewdest of men, and a provident and far-seeing manager. A man of detail and persistence, he gained wealth where other people about him were being ruined. Born in Adelaide in 1844, he was a son of the late Mr. Montague Phillipson, and nephew of the late Mr. Philip Levi, well known in pastoral circles. In 1862 Mr. Phillipson went to the distant Umberatana Station, owned by the late Sir Thomas Elder, and there began his extensive connection with the expansive, but often illusive, north country. He quickly gained the confidence of his employer, and becoming his representative, enabled that large investor to obtain considerable profit from his stations. In 1866, when Sir Thomas introduced Afghans with camels from India, Mr. Phillipson studied the language of the former, and displayed considerable business tact in connection with the camel trade. He had the management of immense interests, and the trust confided in him bore fruit. In the early "seventies," Mr. Peter Waite, who subsequently became Chairman of Directors of Elder, Smith, & Co., became joint manager with Mr. Phillipson, and the two together formed a powerful combination. The northern holdings of that large house were transferred to the Heltana Pastoral Company, of which Mr. Phillipson was the largest shareholder, and became the managing director. He spent the main portion of his life remote from his fellows, and was thus a sort of advance guard
