Bendix Hallenstein

Bendix Hall Stone ( born January 24, 1835 in Bisperode in the Duchy of Brunswick; † January 6, 1905 in Dunedin, New Zealand) was New Zealand businessman, industrialist and politician of German descent.

Life and work

Bendix Hall Stone was born on 24 January 1835 as the youngest son of a Jewish family in Bisperode in the Duchy of Brunswick. His father was Reuben Hall Stein, a Jewish merchant, who located in Luegde, east of Detmold, ran a simple textile factory for the production of woolen clothing from rags. His mother was Helene Michaelis. About Hallensteins childhood and his education is not known.

United Kingdom

At the age of 17 years Stone Hall was sent to his uncle Michael Michaelis to Manchester. He worked there for five years in a transport company, it solidified his English language skills and learned during the training, the hand tool of a businessman know.

Australia

In 1857 he made ​​the decision to go with his two older brothers to Australia and to try his luck there in the gold fields of Daylesford, Victoria. In 1861 he went briefly back to England, where he worked in Alford, Lincolnshire Mary Mountain ( 1826-1907 ), the maid of the three brothers was in Australia, married on 14 February 1861. The marriage produced four daughters were born. After returning from England he remained until 1863 in Victoria, until it moved him and his brothers after the discovery of gold in Otago and West Coast to New Zealand.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, arrived, he lived for about a year in Invercargill and opened his first shop, before 1864 he moved to Queenstown, one of the consequences of the gold rush of 1861 very busy city this time. Stone Hall also opened a business there, selling food, wine, spirits and household items. His business was popular and ran successfully. So was followed by further store openings in Arrowtown, Cromwell and Lawrence. In addition, he worked as a wool merchant with sales leads to Dunedin, Melbourne and London. In 1867 he opened a business partner located with a corn mill in Kawarau Falls, a few miles east of Queenstown.

Meanwhile also prescribed the policy, sparked stone hall in 1869 his business partner as mayor of Queenstown from. He held the position until 1872, until he presented himself for the Otago Provincial Council. He served on the Council until 1875. At the same time he was elected for the region in the House of Representatives, which he was a member from 1872 to 1873.

In 1837 Stone Hall, a textile factory for the manufacture of suits. After initial difficulties in which he sold his factory in order to lease from the buyer, he opened at the central location in Dunedin, the Octagon, a department store for clothing, the later 34 more homes should follow spread all over New Zealand. In the building, which is now used by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, its headquarters was located. In April 1884 Hall Stone The Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand ( DIC), founded with an initial capital of 125,000 pounds. He thus founded the first cooperative in the original goods from overseas without intermediaries could be purchased directly by the consumer, with the promise of 25 - to be able to save 30 % of the product price here. Hall Stone was a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce of Dunedin, was director of Kempthorne, Prosser & Co New Zealand Drug Company Ltd., National Insurance Company and the Westport Coal Company.

During the strike of textile workers in the so-called "Sweating Agitation " (1888-1890) supported the stone hall demands for improved working conditions of the workers, and the formation of unions all over the country spread. It looked in benefits that would derive his opinion, both sides of it.

In August 1903 Stone Hall suffered a stroke from which he never recovered. He died on January 6, 1905 probably due to the after-effects of the attack. Hall stone was buried in the Jewish section of the cemetery of the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.