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James Mason (1820-1914) and his Life Membership Card (1856) |
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James Mason was born in Staffordshire and migrated to Australia from England around 1848. He purchased land in Prahran in 1852 and built the Royal George Hotel (on the corner of Greville and Chapel Streets), of which he was licensee. He donated a piece of land adjoining his hotel on Chapel Street for the erection of a building to house the Mechanics’ Institute facilities. The Trustees purchased extra land adjacent to it. J.B. Cooper wrote that “When James Mason ‘arranged’ to have the Mechanics’ Institute next to his hotel, the Royal George, it was said he had an eye to his bar receipts”. Cooper also wrote that Mason “claimed” to have donated the land to the Trustees of the Mechanics’ Institute, but Cooper had sighted a receipt for £100, which had been signed by Mason. Mason insisted that the amount on the receipt was to legalise the property conveyance. Nevertheless, Mason is noted for being a very charitable and public-spirited person. |
He donated regularly to hospitals and other public charities. He sat on the first Prahran Municipal Council 1856-58 and 1859-61, St Kilda Council 1861-62, and represented Prahran district in Parliament in 1858-59. Along with his photograph is an image of his Prahran Mechanics’ Institute Life Membership card, which he purchased for ten guineas in 1856. These days, life memberships are not available by subscription, but awarded for service and lengthy patronage. He passed away aged of 94 at his Brighton Road home, 'Alfriston', in 1914 and is buried at the St Kilda Cemetery. (Source: Stonnington Archives. These images are provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced for other purposes without the prior permission of the Stonnington Local History Archives.) |
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