People Australia

Jacob Montefiore, 1865

State Library of South Australia, B 11232

Jacob Montefiore (1801-1895), merchant and South Australian colonization commissioner, was the son of Eliezer Montefiore (1761-1837), merchant of London and Jamaica, and his wife Judith.[1] Born in 1801 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Jacob was one of at least five siblings: John Castello (born before their parents’ marriage and described in the baptism records as ‘free mulatto’), Moses Eliezer (?-1820), Joseph Barrow (1803-1893), Eveline (1805-1882), and Esther Hannah (1799-1864).[2] He was educated in England, and in 1828 married Justina Lydia Gompertz in London.[3] They had at least eight children: Leslie (1830-1909), Abigail Laura (1832-?), Judith Emma (1835-1899), Louisa (1835-?), Sidney (1837-1882), Ada (1842-?), Louis Phillip (1847-1922), Joseph (1850-1915), and Violet Victoria (1853-?).[4]

Jacob’s younger brother Joseph Barrow Montefiore, merchant and financier, was born in 1803, most likely also in Barbados.[5] He was educated in London at Hurwitz’s School and Garcia’s Academy. On leaving school he was articled to a firm of tea brokers and, in 1824, paid £1,500 to become one of the twelve ‘Jew Brokers’ of London—a dozen Jewish men who had the right of trading at the Royal Exchange, London.[6] In 1826 he married Rebecca Moccatta in London. The couple had at least fourteen children.

The wealthy Sephardi Montefiore family had significant interests in the slave economy. Jacob and Joseph’s father Eliezer owned sugar plantations in Barbados and partnered with others to transport enslaved people from Barbados to Demerara and Berbice (both in modern-day Guyana).[7] His sons were involved with compensation claims when enslaved people were freed. In 1838 they claimed £386 19s 1d for twenty enslaved people in Barbados, on behalf of three children of John Taylor, for whom they were trustees.[8] In the same year a claim for £514 12s 3d compensation for thirty-three enslaved people in Barbados failed when Jacob and his elder brother John refused ‘to take upon themselves the trusts’ for the benefit of the creditors of James S. Bascom.[9] Some of the Montefiore brothers were also slaveowners and landholders. John owned seven enslaved people and was a successful claimant for one enslaved person in 1837.[10] Moses Eliezer owned property in St Thomas, today part of the United States Virgin Islands, and was left property by his great-uncle, Joseph Barrow, in Barbados.[11] It is likely that this is the same Moses Montefiore who is recorded in 1820 as part-owner of Springfield Pen in Jamaica and the owner of several enslaved people.[12]

The Montefiore family had strong familial and business ties with the Rothschilds, one of the wealthiest banking families in Europe. Jacob and Joseph’s cousin, Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885), was the brother-in-law of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, and became wealthy as his stockbroker.[13] As mortgagee, Rothschild claimed £2,571 17s 9d compensation for an estate in Antigua (158 enslaved people) in 1839.[14] Despite benefiting from the slavery business, Sir Moses Montefiore and Nathan Rothschild were instrumental in providing a loan of twenty million pounds to the British Government in 1835 to enable the payment of compensation to the owners of enslaved people.[15]

Jacob Montefiore had many interests in the Australian colonies and was involved with the trade of Australian produce and British goods.[16] He formed the merchant company Montefiore Brothers with Joseph, who emigrated to New South Wales. In 1834 Jacob was listed as a committee member for the South Australian Association, which aimed to found a new colony ‘without Convict Labour.’[17]That same year he was appointed one of the eleven Colonization Commissioners for South Australia.[18] Along with Lieutenant-Colonel George Palmer, he organised the first emigrant ships to South Australia in 1836. They initiated safety reforms, including the mandatory passage of a ‘ship’s surgeon' on vessels with over one hundred passengers and the raising of the deck height, which were said to have saved many lives and were adopted for all subsequent emigrant ships.[19]Jacob was also a shareholder in the Australasian Bank.[20] The South Australian Company and the Australasian Bank were appointed as agents for the colonization commissioners, as were Montefiore, Breillat and Co. and Montefiore, Furtado, and Co.[21] Along with several of his fellow commissioners, Jacob Montefiore was a director of the South Australian Railway Company, designed to link the city of Adelaide to its port.[22] Although he resided in England, he visited South Australia in 1843 where he was greeted with a great civic welcome and was guest of honour at a dinner attended by about seventy leading members of the colony.[23] He spent approximately three months there before returning to England, where he held other positions including director of the Professional Life Assurance company, member of the committee of the Royal Colonial Institute, and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.[24]

Other Australian colonies also attracted Jacob Montefiore’s attention. He was a director and shareholder of the Western Australian Company, which was formed in 1840 to promote emigration to Western Australia.[25] The scheme was founded on Wakefieldian principles and funded by wealthy investors who paid five hundred pounds for shares in the company, which entitled them to land in the Western Australian town of Australind.[26] His role is commemorated by a street name in Australind, West Australia. In 1852 he travelled to Victoria as the agent for the Rothschilds. During this time he formed the company Jacob Montefiore and Co. with his son Leslie, who was already living in Victoria. The company operated both as merchants, importing an eclectic array of food and goods, and as bankers drawing on the Bank of Rothschild.[27] The company advertised that they would buy gold, wool, and tallow.[28] In 1855 it came near to bankruptcy and was dissolved, the business relationship between Montefiore and the Rothschilds came to an end, and Montefiore returned to Britain.[29]During his time in Victoria, Jacob Montefiore was treasurer of the Victoria Institute, which met monthly at the Mechanics Hall and whose object was ‘the collection and dissemination of information bearing on the welfare of the colony.’[30] He was also appointed the Melbourne vice consul for the French Republic.[31]

In 1858 Jacob Montefiore, Raikes Currie, George Palmer, and Alexander Elder presented a George III Sterling Silver Punch Bowl, made by William Grundy of London, to the Mayor of the City of Adelaide. On it was inscribed ‘Presented to the Mayor and Corporation of Adelaide, that they may thereout drink in Australian wine to the memory of Lieut.-Col. Light.’[32] From that day onwards councillors have taken part every year in a ceremony known as ‘the Colonel Light ceremony’, in which they toast  Colonel Light’s health  in Australian wine served from the silver bowl.[33]

Jacob Montefiore died on 3 November 1895 at his home at 35 Hyde Park Square, London, leaving effects of £2,001 7s 2d.[34] He was buried in Nuevo Beth Chaim Cemetery in London and his gravestone reads ‘He was the last survivor of the Commissioners appointed in 1834 by King William the IV for the colonisation of South Australia.’[35] Montefiore Hill, a small rise to the north of Adelaide, was named after him; the Art Gallery of South Australia holds a portrait that he donated.[36]

The younger brother, Joseph Barrow Montefiore, emigrated to New South Wales in 1828 with his wife and their two children, Rebecca’s brother George Gershon Mocatta, and Joseph’s business partner David Ribeiro Furtado.[37] He rapidly amassed large tracts of land and by 1838 owned 12,502 acres.[38] He formed J. Barrow Montefiore and Co. (later Montefiore, Breillat & Co.) with his brother Jacob and Furtado. The company sent large quantities of Australian wool to London through the Montefiore Brothers’ company and advertised various British goods for sale at their store in O’Connell Street, Sydney.[39] He also formed Montefiore, Furtado, and Co., which operated out of Hobart.[40] His nephew Jacob Montefiore Levi (known as Jacob Levi Montefiore) came out from England in 1837 to work in his uncle’s company. He eventually branched out on his own forming Montefiore, Graham & Co. with wealthy Scottish merchant Robert Graham. [41]

Joseph was very involved with the Jewish community. He was the first president of the Jewish congregation in Sydney in 1832 and helped to secure a land grant for a Jewish cemetery.[42] He joined with his nephew Eliezer Montefiore in requesting a share of state aid for religion for the Jewish community.[43] Following the depression, however, in 1841 Montefiore Brothers and its associated companies failed and Joseph Montefiore returned to England.[44] Nonetheless, the two brothers were said to have made a large fortune in real estate.[45]

Five years later Joseph returned to Australia, this time settling in South Australia with his wife and eleven children.[46] He joined his nephew, Eliezer Montefiore Levi (known as Eliezer Levi Montefiore), in E.L. Montefiore & Co., importers and shipping agents, which had its offices on King William Street.[47] Joseph faced bankruptcy again in 1852 when the company was declared insolvent; by March 1858 the company had ceased to trade.[48] He also invested in copper mines and served on the board of the Royal South Australian Mining Co. and several other mining companies. He was a committee member of the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce, a member of the stock exchange, and a trustee of the Savings Bank.[49] He became a Justice of the Peace and was on the boards of numerous charitable institutions.[50]

In 1860 Joseph returned to London where he became engaged in the Jewish reform movement. He died in 1893 in Brighton, leaving effects valued at £1636 6s.[51] The township of Montefiores, in the Wellington Valley of New South Wales, was built on land he owned and was named after him.[52]

The Montefiores financed and provided significant infrastructure for the Victorian goldrush of the early 1850s through imports, exporting gold, and banking.Jacob Montefiore’s position as colonization commissioner enabled South Australian land to be appropriated by British emigrants, and the Montefiore brothers’ investments in land in Western Australia and New South Wales furthered colonisation in those colonies. The vast wealth of the Montefiore family—derived substantially from the slavery business, as well as its connections to the wealthy Rothschild family’s business networks, also invested in the slave economy—enabled the Montefiore brothers and their networks to profit from Australian colonisation.

[1] Joseph Jacobs et al., ‘Montefiore,’ Jewish Encyclopedia, accessed 11 December 2024, https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10960-montefiore.

[2] Census, 1891, RG12, 13, f. 11, 16, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, England, via Ancestry; Will of Eliezer Montefiore, Merchant of Finsbury, Middlesex, 27 December 1837, PROB 11/1888/132, TNA; John Castello Montifiore, baptism, 20 April 1810, Saint Michael’s church records, Bridgetown, Barbados, via Family Search; Israel Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893),’ Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1967, online 2006, accessed 29 January 2025, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/montefiore-joseph-barrow-2472/text3317.

[3] ‘General News,’ Adelaide Observer, 1 January 1887, 26; ‘Births, Deaths, Marriages and Obituaries,’ Standard (London), 29 August 1828, 4.

[4] 1851 census, HO107 1478 194 16, TNA, via Ancestry; Will of Eliezer Montefiore; Leslie Jacob Montefiore, 27 October 1909, National Probate Calendar, via Ancestry; Sidney Benjamin Montefiore, 11 April 1882, National Probate Calendar, via Ancestry; Louis P. Montifiore, 1922, England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index, vol. 1a, 361, via Ancestry; Joseph Gompertz Montefiore, 30 October 1915, National Probate Calendar, via Ancestry.

[5] ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow,’ Cemetery Scribes, accessed 29 January 2025, https://cemeteryscribes.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=3383&tngpage=3998.

[6] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893).’

[7] Eli Faber, Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade, Setting the Record Straight (New York: New York University Press, 1998), 130.

[8] ‘Barbados 1274,’ Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 11 December 2024, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/claim/view/3150.

[9]  ‘Barbados 2029 (Caledonia),’ Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 11 December 2024, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/claim/view/1450.

[10] John Montefiore, Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 8 January 2025, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/41039.

[11] Will of Moses Eliezer Montefiore, 2 January 1822, PROB 11/1652/20, TNA; ‘Will of Joseph Barrow of Barbados,’ Barrow Wills: Barbados, accessed 29 January 2025, http://www.barrow-lousada.org/cheesman%20notes.htm.

[12] ‘Moses Montefiore,’ Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 29 January 2925, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146653863. The LBS states that ‘it appears possible that this was Moses Eliezer (or Elieser) Montefiore, the cousin of Moses Montefiore the London philanthropist (Moses Eliezer Montefiore's aunt Rachel had married Moses Nunes Castello of Barbados in London in 1788).’ However, it should be noted that Moses Montefiore was still listed as part owner of Springfield Pen in 1823, three years after his death.

[13] Abigail Green, ‘Brothers-in-law: the Rothschilds and the Montefiores,’ The Rothschild Archive: Review of the Year April 2008 to March 2009 (2009): 15-21, https://www.rothschildarchive.org/materials/review_2008_2009_brothers_in_law_1.pdf.

[14] ‘Nathan Mayer Rothschild,’ Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 11 December 2024,  https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146631430.

[15] Kris Manjapra ‘The Scandal of the British Slavery Abolition Act Loan,’ Social and Economic Studies 68, no. 3&4 (2019): 165.

[16] Hirsch Munz, Jews in South Australia, 1836-1936: An Historical Outline (Adelaide: Thornquest Press, 1936), 11.

[17] ‘The Courier,’ Hobart Town Courier, 23 May 1834, 3.

[18] Hirsch Munz, ‘The Montefiores. Jews and the Centenary of South Australia,’ The Australian Quarterly 9, no. 1 (1937): 83.

[19] ‘From Australia’s Jewish Past: Jacob Barrow Montefiore – Improving ship travel to the colonies,’ J-wire, accessed 29 January 2025, https://www.jwire.com.au/from-australias-jewish-past-jacob-barrow-montefiore-improving-ship-travel-to-the-colonies.

[20] ‘Supreme Courts—Criminal Side,’ Southern Australian (Adelaide), 29 May 1839, 1.

[21] ‘Instructions to the Resident Commissioner of South Australia, in Regard to the Receipt and Expenditure of the Public Money,’ Southern Australian (Adelaide), 20 November 1839, 3.

[22]  ‘Prospectus of the South Australian Railway Company,’ Southern Australian (Adelaide), 2 October 1839, 4.

[23] ‘The Southern Australian,’ Southern Australian (Adelaide), 2 June 1843, 2.

[24] ‘Advertisement and Notices,’ Sherborne Mercury, 2 October 1847, 1; ‘Obituary,’ Times(London), 7 November 1895, 6.

[25] Thomas John Buckton, Western Australia, Comprising a description of the vicinity of Australind, and Port Leschenault (London: John Ollivier, 1840).

[26] Pamela Statham Drew, James Stirling: Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia(Crawley: UWA Press, 2003), 386-91.

[27] Nicholas Draffin, ‘An enthusiastic amateur of the arts: Eliezer Levi Montefiore in Melbourne 1853–71,’ Art Journal 28 (2014), accessed 15 January 2025, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/an-enthusiastic-amateur-of-the-arts-eliezer-levi-montefiore-in-melbourne-1853-71/.

[28] ‘Advertising,’ Argus (Melbourne), 1 January 1852, 3.

[29] ‘Partnerships Dissolved,’ Perry‘s Bankrupt Gazette (London), 12 April 1856, 6; Angus Trumble, ‘The Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and the Victorian Gold Rush,’ The Rothschild Archive(2009), 30.

[30] ‘Domestic Intelligence,’ Age (Melbourne), 28 November 1854, 5.

[31] ‘Domestic Intelligence,’ Argus (Melbourne), 10 November 1852, 3. 

[32] ‘The Advertiser,’ South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide), 2 February 1859, 2; ‘George III Sterling Silver Punch Bowl,’ Experience Adelaide, accessed 8 January 2025, https://www.experienceadelaide.com.au/photo-library/george-iii-sterling-silver-punch-bowl/; Cameron James Coventry, ‘Links in the Chain: British slavery, Victoria and South Australia,’ Before/Now 1, no. 1 (2019): 19.

[33] ‘Civic Recognition and Protocol Policy,’ City of Adelaide, accessed 8 January 2025, chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://d31atr86jnqrq2.cloudfront.net/docs/policy-civic-recognition-protocol.PDF.

[34] Jacob Montefiore, 3 January 1896, National Probate Calendar, via Ancestry.

[35] ‘Montefiore, Jacob,’ Cemetery Scribes, accessed 11 December 2024, https://www.cemeteryscribes.co.uk/showmedia.php?mediaID=7517&medialinkID=5806.

[36] ‘Montefiore Hill,’ History Trust of South Australia, accessed 11 December 2024, https://adelaidia.history.sa.gov.au/places/montefiore-hill; ‘Portrait of Jacob Montefiore,’ Australian Gallery of South Australia, accessed 11 December 2024, https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/collection-publications/collection/works/portrait-of-jacob-montefiore-jp-frgs/25118/.

[37] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893)’.

[38] Ibid.

[39] ‘General News,’ Adelaide Observer, 1 January 1887, 26; ‘Classified Advertising,’ Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 18 September 1832, 4.

[40] ‘Advertising,’ Sydney Herald, 16 October 1837, 1.

[41] Martha Rutledge, ‘Montefiore, Jacob Levi (1819–1885),’ Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1974, online 2006, accessed 29 January 2025, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/montefiore-jacob-levi-4225/text6813. 

[42] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow’; ‘Grants of Land,’ New South Wales Government Gazette(Sydney), 31 October 1832, 368.

[43] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow.’

[44] Barrie Dyster, ‘The Depression of the 1840s in New South Wales,’ Obituaries Australia, accessed 29 January 2025, https://oa.anu.edu.au/essay/29/text40594; ‘Money Market and City News,’ Morning Post (London), 27 February 1841, 3.

[45] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893).’

[46] ‘Adelaide Shipping,’ South Australian Register (Adelaide), 29 July 1846, 1.

[47] ‘Adelaide Shipping,’ South Australian Register (Adelaide), 7 February 1846, 1; ‘Insolvency Notices,’ South Australian Register (Adelaide), 7 September 1855, 3; Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893).’

[48] ‘Law and Criminal Courts. Supreme Court—Insolvency,’ Adelaide Observer, 30 April 1853, 7; ‘Insolvency Court,’ South Australian Register (Adelaide), 12 March 1858, 3.

[49] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893).’

[50] Munz, ‘The Montefiores,’ 87.

[51] Getzler, ‘Montefiore, Joseph Barrow (1803–1893)’; ‘Joseph Montefiore,’ Legacies of British Slavery, accessed 22 January 2025, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/40993.

[52] ‘The Early History of Montefiores,’ Wellington Times (Wellington, NSW), 1 September 1952, 2.