The White Hat Guide to Alfred Felton

Alfred Felton
Businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist
8 November 1831 - 8 January 1904

Born in East Anglia, Alfred Felton worked for a time as  a watchmaker's assistant before migrating to Australia in 1853 during the great Victorian gold rush. He quickly demonstrated enterprise and business skills and established himself first as a merchant and later a manufacturer. He entered into partnership with Fenton Grimwade (father of Russell Grimwade) and their manufacturing business expanded from pharmaceuticals into areas such as chemicals and fertilisers. Chemicals require bottles, so Felton and Grimwade reduced their exposure to outside suppliers by manufacturing their own glass and bottles. These enterprises, after many changes and amalgamations, still continue as 'ACI' and 'CGI'.

Felton continued to diversify his interests and became part owner of the large Murray Downs pastoral estate. This diversification served him well when the great depression of the 1890s hit. Those who had invested all their money in property or put it in the bank often lost everything as property prices plummeted and banks collapsed.

Felton, a bachelor who had always lived modestly despite his wealth, now moved into rooms at the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda. Although he had been unobtrusively involved with charitable organisations, he never stood for public office and was not active on public committees. This did not sit well with attitudes from the Victorian era of the obligations that come with wealth. Much of the private wealth of Melbourne at that time had been created through enterprise and hard work of self made men and women who from humble beginnings, rather than the wealth of inheritance or privilege. This placed an even greater obligation on successful people from humble beginnings to contribute to the community and Felton may well have been seen as tardy in that respect.

It was therefore with great surprise that people of Melbourne opened their newspapers in January 1904 to read that Alfred Felton (who had died in his rooms at the Esplanade Hotel of prostate cancer) had left the bulk of his fortune for the public benefit.

The money (about 40 million dollars in current terms) was to be placed in a well managed bequest fund which would generate ongoing income and be divided equally between the picture gallery (now the National Gallery of Victoria) and charities. During his life, he had been a collector of art and the patron of Rupert Bunny, but the bequest came as a complete surprise. Since that time the Felton Bequest has been used to purchase over a billion dollars worth of paintings for the gallery and for major and continuous charitable work in Melbourne. It is common in Melbourne to see the label 'Felton Bequest' on major works of art and it represents one of the most significant art bequests in the world and continues to fund major purchases.

Some of the paintings which have been purchased by the bequest include Tiepolo's The Banquet of Cleopatra, Tom Roberts' Shearing the Rams, McCubbin's The Pioneer and Pissarro's Boulevard Montmartre.

Pioneers (1904) Frederick McCubbin (Ian Potter Centre NGVA) Click here to buy this print

Shearing the Rams Tom Roberts (Ian Potter Centre NGVA) Click here to buy this print online

A sculpture of Felton by Clive Murray-Wright stands in the Federation Court of the NGV International. Alfred Felton is buried in St Kilda Cemetery.

Some philanthropy-related links on this site

'Mac' Robertson
Alfred Felton
Caroline Chisholm
Clarke Family
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch
Dick Smith
Francis Ormond
George & Annis Bills
George Coppin
Hugo Wertheim
John & Sunday Reed
Kerry Packer
Lindsay Fox
Louise Hanson-Dyer
Richard Pratt
Russell Grimwade
Sidney Myer
Sir Ian Potter
Sir Ian Potter
The Smorgon Family
Walter & Eliza Hall