Gabriel Aarons
AARONS, Gabriel, MIME (1851-1941)
Gabriel Aarons was born in Spitalfields, London on January 4, 1851, the son of dealer Jakob (John) Aarons and his wife Rosetta Aarons (nee Myers). The family came to Australia in 1858, arriving at Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. In his teens, Gabriel became involved in the mining industry. His older brother, Lewis, was a successful gold prospector who later became a member of the London Stock Exchange and Chairman of the Chaffer’s Gold Mine at Boulder.
By 1885, Gabriel was the Manager of the Ravenswood Gold Smelting Company located near Townsville in Queensland. In 1888 he was the Mine Manager at the Tower Hill Silver Mining Company at Silverton, NSW. Later in April 1888 he was the inaugural Manager of the Barrier Chief Siver Mining Company, also at Silverton. His brother, Lewis, was a Director of the Barrier Chief Siver Mining Company.
Gabriel moved to Tasmania in 1891 to work as Mine Manager at the Queen and Balstrup Silver Mining Company at Zeehan.
Gabriel first came to Western Australia in January 1895 to be Manager of the Londonderry Mine near Coolgardie. He resigned from this position in August 1895, remaining until October to see the completion of an onsite five stamp Battery. He was then employed by the City Mining Syndicate to purchase mining leases. In 1896, he became Manager of the Hannan’s Hundred Acres Gold Mine.
On December 17, 1896 he married Annie Gainey in Queensland. They did not have any children.
In 1897 he was appointed Manager of New Arrow Proprietary Gold Mines NL and travelled to England with his wife. Returning to Western Australia in January 1898, via the USA, he inspected smelting works in Denver and San Francisco. As Manager of the WA Smelting Company, based at Fremantle, he supervised the construction of the four furnace smelter with company engineer C P Dickenson.
Returning to the Goldfields he became Manager Hannans Mount Ferrum Gold Mines by 1899. In 1901 he was Consulting Engineer to the Hannan’s Hundred Acres Gold Mine. In 1902 he travelled to London to attend the Coronation.
Gabriel returned to Kalgoorlie, working as a mining consultant based in the Exchange Buildings. He was reported inspecting mines in Persia in 1905 where he almost died of smallpox. From Persia he returned to London. By 1911 he and his wife were living in London with him working as a consulting engineer. From 1912 to 1925, he managed a British company dredging for gold in Fairbanks, Alaska. Gabriel was a Member of the Institution of Mining Engineers and was a Government Certified Mine Manager.
Gabriel died on March 30, 1941, aged 90, at 5 Woburn Mansions, Torrington Place, London.
Based on a biography in Westralian Founders of Twentieth Century Mining and augmented in November 2024 by Chris Fitzhardinge.
References:
Brisbane Courier, 5.3.1888, p2
Newcastle Herald and Miners Advocate, 13.3.1889, p4
Illustrated Sydney News, 12.9.1891, p20
Zeehan and Dundas Herald, 4.2.1895, p2
Australian Star, 26.12.1895, p5
Western Mail, 6.11.1896, p2
Coolgardie Miner, 14.12.1897, p3
Coolgardie Pioneer, 28.8.1897, p7
Geraldton Express, 2.12.1898, p4
Kalgoorlie Miner, 22.2.1901, p3
Kalgoorlie Western Argus, 22.7.1902, p26
Adelaide Advertiser, 21.4.1905, p5
Western Mail, 23.4.1925, p22
Austin Guy Sprake, Londonderry, the Golden Hole, 1892-1992, Hesperian Press, 1991
Denis A Cumming and Richard G Hartley, Westralian Founders of Twentieth Century Mining, 2014
