Monday, 10th August, 1874
Herbert Hoover. Taken in Perth, 1898.
This was the day that Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, was born. But, did you know he spent several years of his early career in Australia? That’s right. He first came to Australia in 1897, employed as a mining engineer with Bewick, Moreing & Co. in the Western Australian gold fields.
He must have been good at what he did, because by the age of twenty-three, he was the mine manager. Typical as Aussies do, they nicknamed him H.C., or ‘Hail Columbia.’
Herbert Hoover married in 1899 and spent some time working for the coal mines in China, before returning to Australia once again. Back in the southern land, he became a partner in Bewick, Moreing & Co., but he did not remain here. Instead, he visited every few years, investing in the mines. He founded what became the Rio Tinto Group, to mine the zinc at Broken Hill.
Hoover obviously had a knack for business and made millions through his mining investments, and all before becoming President in 1929. Although he thought our country a land of ‘black flies, red dust and white heat,’ he still managed to find one of our most valuable commodities.
Hail Columbia is such an odd nickname. What is the most unusual nickname you’ve heard?
Romancing The Rock 