Stewart Dawson & Co. was a silversmith and retail business that was founded in 1871 by David Stewart Dawson in Liverpool, England. The company quickly became successful, and by the late 1800s, it had branches in London, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, and Dunedin.
Stewart Dawson was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1849. He apprenticed as a silversmith in Dufftown, and then moved to Liverpool in 1871 to set up his own business. Dawson was a talented silversmith, and his work was soon in demand by both the wealthy and the middle class. The company's products were known for their high quality and their stylish design.
In 1886, Dawson moved to Australia and opened a branch of his business in Sydney. The Australian branch was an immediate success, and it quickly became one of the leading silversmiths in the country. Dawson also opened branches in Melbourne and Auckland, and by the
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early 1900s, Stewart Dawson & Co. was one of the most successful silversmiths in the British Empire.
The company continued to grow and expand in the early 20th century. In 1907, it was incorporated as a limited liability company. In 1910, the company opened a branch in Dunedin, New Zealand. And in 1920, the company opened a branch in London's Regent Street.
The firm was converted into a limited liability company in 1907 under the name of Stewart Dawson & Co Ltd. The business was sold in 1931 to R.H.O. Hills of Blackpool and continued its activity until around 1935.
Stewart Dawson also invested and traded in inner city properties in Sydney and Melbourne, from which he became very wealthy, so much so that by the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s he had converted his properties to cash, and was holding in excess of 1 million pounds. At the time of his death in 1932 at the of 82 he had homes in Potts Point and Palm Beach in Sydney, Springwood in the Blue Mountains, Monte Carlo and Hatton Garden, London.
Stewart Dawson & Co. continued to be successful throughout the 20th century. However, in the 1970s, the company began to face increasing competition from foreign manufacturers and was by acquired by the James Pacoe Group. All the stores in Australia have been closed, but there remain 15 Stewart Dawsons stores throughout New Zealand.
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