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ALLEN, PHILIP REDMOND (c1836–1887), businessman, was born in about 1836, a son of George and
Ruth Redmond Allen of Victoria. He arrived in Palmerston in late 1873, and established a store that traded as
P R Allen and Company in a tent on the Esplanade. He then took a 21-year lease over Lot 540, Mitchell Street,
on the corner of Bennett Street, from the English owners, the Churcher family. The rent was considerable: 50 Pounds
annually for the first seven years, 75 Pounds for the second seven years with 100 Pounds for the remainder of the
term. Allen built a store 24 metres by nine metres, its footings firmly in concrete. At the time it was the largest store
in Palmerston and on its completion Allen gave a ball to celebrate. In 1887 the Government Resident described it
as a ‘handsome building’ which 10 years later was valued at 1 500 Pounds. It was destroyed in the 1897 cyclone
with stock losses estimated at about 10 000 Pounds. Nevertheless the business recovered.
As with most other early storekeepers, Allen held a shipping agency, was a wine and spirit merchant and carried
a vast range of general stock. He had his own coastal trading vessels, which took stores to the folk in the Kimberleys
and along the Territory coast. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Allen was clearly a good businessman with
considerable financial expertise. There is no suggestion that the firm was ever in financial difficulties.
Although Allen offered himself for the first District Council elections in 1874, he was unsuccessful. He was
elected in September 1877 and was a Councillor continually until 1884. He served three terms as Chairman and
in that capacity welcomed the parliamentary party led by J L Parsons in 1882. Other than as a Councillor, he was
not particularly prominent in public matters but was highly respected for his ‘unswerving integrity, large hearted
liberality and sound common sense.’ He was among the residents who continually called for the beautification of
the town and was a keen gardener.
In July 1882 Allen took into partnership Robert Young Harvey, his brother-in-law, and George McKeddie.
Two years later Allen retired from active business and left the Territory as then he was suffering from a serious
heart condition. At first he left the business under the management of his nephew H A G Rundle.
He died somewhat unexpectedly at his residence in Strathfield, Sydney, on 5 May 1887, survived by his wife
Margaret, nee Twinem, and four children. When news reached Palmerston several days later, all the flags, including
those at the Government Residence, were flown at half-mast, a measure of the respect in which he was held.
The obituaries in the Northern Territory Times and Gazette and its competitor the North Australian were obviously
heartfelt. Many a miner was dependent on the goodwill of the storekeepers for his sustenance when times were bad
and Allen was noted for his help whenever he was asked. He was a ‘genial friend’ and sorely missed.
After Allen died the store continued to prosper. In March 1888 Rundle left for Adelaide to go into business in
his own name. Harvey withdrew from the partnership that was then reformed between Margaret Allen, her brother
James Twinem and George McKeddie, who remained the Manager in Palmerston. Twinem died in 1903 and the
partnership between Margaret Allen and McKeddie was dissolved on 29 March 1904, when the firm became a
limited company registered in Sydney. McKeddie remained Manager until P R Allen junior was old enough to
run the business himself. Margaret Allen visited Palmerston in 1905 and was described by the press as the ‘virtual
head’ of the old firm. The company continued to trade until it was sold to A E Jolly and Company in 1920. No other
store started in the pioneering days of Palmerston can boast an unbroken record of trading for 47 years. Margaret
Allen died at Austinmere, New South Wales, on 1 February 1921, aged 75 years.
D E Kelsey, The Shackle: A Story of the Far North Australian Bush, 1975; Northern Territory Times and Gazette, 22 July 1882, 30 December
1884, 22 August 1885, 29 August 1885, 12 March 1887, 7 May 1887, 10 January 1897, 29 March 1904, 4 August 1905, 3 January 1920,
5 February 1921; North Australian, 7 May 1887, 10 March 1888; Sydney Morning Herald, 5 May 1887; New South Wales Births, Deaths and
Marriages Records, 87 02440; Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages Records, 3902 1877.
HELEN J WILSON, Vol 2.ANDREW, ABRAHAM (1877–1951), miner, farmer, businessman and pastoralist, was born in Kadina,
South Australia, son of James Andrew and Emily, nee Symonds. He married Bertha Martha Cook (1882–1963)
at Broken Hill in New South Wales on 9 April 1903 at the Salvation Army church. Bertha was born in Koolunga,
South Australia and was daughter of Thomas Cook and Rose Ellen, nee Chapman. Both Abraham and Bertha
were of Cornish descent. The children born to the union were Maisie Semmons (1904–1938), Oswald Clarence
(1906–1974), Gladys Rose (1907–1988) and Mervyn James (1909–1989).
Abraham and Bertha left Port Lincoln, South Australia, in 1934 and arrived at Henbury cattle station in Central
Australia in 1935, six months later. Travelling with them were daughter Maisie Parker (nee Andrew/Arbon) and her
two children Gladys Kathleen Arbon (born 1926) and Arthur Raymond Arbon (born 1928). Two young brothers,
Dick and Murray Garrett from Port Lincoln were also with them in the wagons.
At this particular time Abraham was 58 years old and he had a vision of acquiring land to the south of Tempe
Downs. In earlier life, he had been a miner at Broken Hill and in the Moonta copper mines. When the Moonta mine
closed down he had tried farming at Crystal Brook. During the early depression years he had moved to Spalding
Cove. There he worked at cutting firewood that was picked up by ketch and sold in Adelaide. Later, a brother and
a brother-in-law of Bertha’s joined the Andrews.
Afterwards, the three families moved over to Thistle Island, where they had been offered the opportunity to
‘share farm’, for the Tapley family. For about 12 months they all shared a house on the south end of the island.
The Andrew family then moved back to Port Lincoln.
Abraham was a very versatile person, who could turn his hand to most work. He was an excellent well sinker, as
well as a builder of stockyards and fencing with bush materials. During the very early 1940s, he burned limestone
and built two houses; one in Alice Springs and the other at Glen Helen. Abraham had a great natural affinity with