Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/444

 4iS ADELAIDE AND VlClNlTV Mr. Hujjh Robert Dixson TH F! annual output of tobacco constitutes a very substantial asset of South Australia. However the moralist may prate of the moral aspect of the nicotine habit, it must be admitted that, like opium, it is a useful source of wealth from the tax-collector's point of view. Without the imposition of duties on such luxuries, the incomes of nations would be in a sorry condition, and direct taxation would have to be levied. In South Australia the public revenue is materially aug- mented by the tobacco duties. There are certain local firms which enter extensively into the manu- facture of tobacco, employ con- siderable labor, invest substantial capital, and, by importing the raw material, largely augment the revenue. Among these the name of Robert Dixson & Co. is the best known, and the head of the concern, Mr. H. R. Dixson, is one of the leading business men of the Province. Hugh Robert Dixson was born at Forbes, New South Wales, in 1865. His father, Mr. Robert Dixson, for years controlled the firm of Robert Dixson & Co. in Adelaide ; and his grandfather, Hugh Dixson, established the first tobacco business in the capital of New South W'ales. The history of the original firm began in the earlier half of the nineteenth century, and in the course of generations it has ramified throughout Australasia. It is now the largest house of its kind on this continent, and possesses plantations in New .South Wales and Queensland. Messrs. Dixson are al.so the largest importers of American leaf in Australasia. The firm employs some 500 hands in the different factories. There are branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle, as well as in Adelaide. The subject of our sketch was educated at the Scotch College, Melbourne, and University College, London. In 1878 his fathe-, Mr. Robert Dixson, came over from Melbourne and established the .South Australian branch ; and, upon leaving College, Mr. H. R. Dixson settled in this Province, and was associated with the local business until Hammer & Co., Fhotu