Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/554

 528 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Mr.j.shaw lari^t: contracts, and some of the handsomest structures in the city were erected by him. Amon^i- them were the Houses of Parliament, new Government Offices, Government Workshops, large bank buildings, the Australian Mutual Provident Society's l)uildings, and many private offices and residences. He was probably the chief building contractor in South Australia, and declined offers from other colonies to negotiate large works there. As a large employer of labor, he showed that he was something more than a mere business man. If a workman accidentally met his death while in his employ, the family was well provided for. He paid good wages, and deported himself towards his men in a uniformly considerate spirit. His business dealings were therefore attended with happy consecjuences. During the years while thus engaged, Mr. Shaw became a popular citizen, as well as a progressive one. His general conduct, and his unselfish spirit, endeared him to his fellows. He was elected a member of the Adelaide City Council, and devoted to his civic duties time that could be ill spared. He was associated with the Council for eight vears ; for part of the period as Alderman. In 1889 he was elected to the Mayoral Chair, and his hospitality in civic functions, and his liberality among the poor, won general admiration. In addition, he made a close study of municipal matters, aiu! did good work for the Corporation. But constant labor im[)aired his health, and Mr. Shaw was compelled to forego for a time further municipal office. He proceeded to the sulphur springs of New Zealand, and the good will and regret ex|)ressed at his cleparture was universal. After a lengthy absence he returned to Adelaide. In 1893 Mr. .Shaw visited the newly opened Coolgardie Goldfields of Western Australia, only a few months after their discovery by Bayley and P'ord. In the absence of railway communication, and even of simple travelling facilities, Mr. Shaw's task was a formidable one. At the railway terminus at Northam, he and his companions engaged a trap drawn by si. horses for the journey. Then followed a dreary drive of nine days through lonely bush and sandy desert, under a torrid sun. Coolgardie was a collection of a few tents, in the midst of which teamsters and camels camped to the detriment of public health. Life was rough and ready, and it was only the hardy and the courageous who could bear it under such conditions. Despite the weariness of such a tedious drive, Mp .Shaw forthwith made a thorough inspection of the then known gold area, and invested considerable capital in several mines. He decided to remain in Coolgardie ; and his investments proved highly remunerative ; he was one of the owners of the Londonderry mine, floated in London for ^700,000, and held shares in Bayley 's .South P^xtended^ Oroya. Ivanhoe, Lake View, Mount Charlotte, Golden Age, Crusoe, and many other companies. But though his time was largely occupied in supervising these extensive interests, he threw himself very heartily into local public movements. He gready helped the Progress Committee elected by the residents to uphold the rights and advance the claims of Coolgardie, and to improve the .sanitary condition of the locality. Population there increased so rapidly that it became absolutely necessary to establish some order in the community. 'Phe street.s, from being the camping ground of horses and camels, were in a wretched condition, and sickness became general. Mr. .Shaw infused life into the proceedings of the committee, and was an active agitator for the proclamation of a municipality, .fier this was granted, and before the municipal machinery could be brought