Guide to the Papers of William H. Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (as filmed by the AJCP), 1899-1927

 

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Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
M1642-1649
Creator:
Lever, William Hesketh, Lord Leverhulme, 1851-1925
Extent:
1 items
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Papers relating to the activities of Leverhulme and Levers plantations, including the operations of the Pacific Islands Co. and the Pacific Phosphate Co., the activities of J. Kitchen and Sons in Australia, and Lever Brothers (New Zealand).

Subjects include: Javanese, Indian or Chinese labour for Solomon Islands; effects of industrial arbitration on manufacturing in Australia; industrial disputes in Australia; activities of the Australian company; Australian taxation; trade unionism in Australia; and Philippines Refining Corporation.

Major correspondents include W. Hulme Lever, R. Barrie, S. Gross, J. Meek, J.T. Arundel, Lord Stanmore, A.R. Dickinson, J.H. Kitchen, J. McDowell, C.M. Woodford, J.M.B. Stubbs, C.E. Tatlow, H.R. Greenhalgh, H.G. Hart, Sir Gilbert Fox and A. McNatty.

Biographical / Historical:

Lord Leverhulme:

Sir William Hesketh Lever (1851-1925), 1st. Baron Leverhulme (created 1917) 1st. Viscount Leverhulme (created 1922). Lever entered his father's grocery business at Bolton in 1867, becoming a partner in 1872. In 1885 he established a soap factory at Warrington and 1889 he founded Port Sunlight, near Liverpool, which remained the headquarters of the Lever empire until 1921. Lever Brothers was registered as a private company in 1890 and converted to a public limited company in 1894. At first the company concentrated on the manufacture of Sunlight Soap, but after 1897 it diversified to other soaps, soap flakes and seed crushing. After 1906 the company gained control of a large number of companies in several countries, dominated the British soap market, became increasingly involved in raw material projects, and acquired shipping and food businesses. By 1929, when it amalgamated with the Netherlands-based Margarine Unie to form Unilever, it had an issued capital of over £56 million.

Until 1925 Lever Brothers was dominated by Leverhulme. After 1902 he held all the ordinary shares, to a value of £3 million in 1921. The Board of Directors seldom met: they were virtually all full-time managers who reported directly to Leverhulme. After 1915 a group of three directors were responsible for the foreign and associated companies. Most of the associated companies retained their legal identity and autonomy, with their own boards, managements, factories and sales forces. In 1921 a group of four, the Special Committee, was set up to ensure that Leverhulme acted on proper advice.

Lever Brothers In Australia:

Lever Brothers opened an office in Sydney in 1888 to distribute Lever soaps in Australia and to buy and transmit Pacific copra and English tallow. In 1900 a soap manufacturing plant was opened at Balmain. Lever Brothers (Australia) was incorporated in 1899, its capital wholly owned by Lever Brothers. There was a local board but it ceased to exist after 1903. J. Meek was Managing Director 1902-1923. In 1914 Lever Brothers acquired a 75% interest in the largest Australian soap manufacturer, J. Kitchen and Sons, which had been established in Melbourne in 1856. It also boughtout W.H. Burford and Sons, founded in Adelaide in 1839. It thereby gained control of about 60% of the Australian soap market. The Australian companies retained considerable autonomy. By 1925 Lever companies in Australia consisted of the three soap companies, Lever Pacific Plantations Ltd and Trufood of Australia Ltd, linked together by a holding company Australian Producers Copartnership Pty Ltd.

Lever Brothers In The Pacific:

The Pacific Islands Company was founded by J.T. Arundel in 1897 and subsequently acquired extensive leases in the Solomon Islands and mining concessions in Nauru and Ocean Island. In 1902 the Company was reconstituted, Lever bought a large number of shares and also leases on several islands, including Fiji, Christmas Island, Canton Island and Surwarrow Island. He eventually sold most of these leases and concentrated on the Solomon Islands, where by 1907 he had acquired about 300,000 acres, both freehold and leasehold. However, the growth of Lever's Pacific Plantations Ltd. was hampered by a shortage of labour and copra was never grown on more than 20,000 acres. By 1925 there were about 20 Lever estates in the islands. Most of the estate managers were Australians and the Managing Director, G. Fulton, was based in Sydney. In 1928 Lever's Pacific Planatations Ltd. was converted into an Australian company owned by J. Kitchen and Sons. In addition to his own copra estates, Lever took a strong interest in the affairs of the Pacific Phosphate Company, and was a director in 1909-1912.

Source: D.K. Fieldhouse. Unilever overseas; the anatomy of a multinational 1895-1965. (London, Croom Helm 1978)

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:
Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.
Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: