66 Facts About Cecil Hoskins

Sir Cecil Harold Hoskins was an Australian industrialist associated with the iron and steel industry.

Cecil Hoskins was on the board of the Australian Mutual Provident Society for many years and was its chairman from 1947 to 1962.

Cecil Hoskins is less well known for his involvement in centre-right political organisations and the scouting movement, and his interest in landscape gardens.

Cecil Hoskins was the fourth-eldest child of Charles Hoskins and his wife Emily.

Cecil Hoskins was born in Petersham, New South Wales, on 11 November 1889.

Cecil Hoskins was one of their eight children who would survive their early childhood, and the second-eldest son.

Cecil Hoskins had a privileged upbringing, as the son of a wealthy industrialist.

Cecil Hoskins committed a traffic offence, in 1906, at a time when cars were a rarity on Sydney's roads.

Cecil Hoskins finished his disjointed schooling, from 1903 until 1906, when he and his brothers were day students at Newington College.

Cecil Hoskins never attained tertiary qualifications of any kind, something that, later in his life, would colour his own attitude to university-trained engineers, metallurgists, and other professionals, almost certainly to his own detriment.

William Sandford and his sons had left the works, as the Cecil Hoskins took over Lithgow.

However, Cecil Hoskins' father was a tough businessman, who had plenty of experience in managing a heavy industrial business, and who would turn around the business by 1914, by modifications and additions to the plant.

Cecil Hoskins was in the thick of it, with his father and elder brother, when all three were under siege by rock-throwing rioters, during the protracted industrial dispute of 1911.

Cecil Hoskins lost two of his sisters; Hilda, in a level-crossing accident in 1912, and Nellie to tuberculosis, in 1914.

In March 1921, Cecil Hoskins was the public spokesman of the company, under the tragic circumstances of the Cadia mine disaster.

In November 1927, Cecil Hoskins returned for a three-month business trip.

When Charles Cecil Hoskins retired in 1924, the plan for a new works at Port Kembla was in place, but there was some deliberate ambiguity about the future of the existing steelworks at Lithgow.

Charles Cecil Hoskins died in 1926 and would not see his vision fulfilled.

Cecil Hoskins had learnt what he knew of steel production from his time at the relatively antiquated Lithgow works and from trips that he made overseas to visit more modern plants.

Cecil Hoskins correctly surmised that American and German steelmakers were more technologically advanced than the British practice which he associated with the old Lithgow technology.

Cecil Hoskins would be responsible for the construction and commissioning of the new plant at Port Kembla, while his brother Sid would run the operations at Lithgow, as these gradually wound down.

Cecil Hoskins had built a private wharf on the Outer Harbour, to land its iron ore.

Cecil Hoskins had secured a mining lease on Cockatoo Island and its 30-million tons of iron ore, in 1927.

Cecil Hoskins was already making coke at Wongawilli, and had been railing coke to Lithgow since 1916; from 1928 it would go the shorter distance to Port Kembla.

Cecil Hoskins had to face the fact that many of the Hoskins company's existing assets would need to be written off, when Lithgow closed.

Cecil Hoskins became chairman of the new company and his brother Sidney Hoskins joined the board.

Cecil Hoskins closed the Brisbane pipe plant and concentrated the manufacture of steel pipes at Alexandria.

An American expert was brought out to rework the mill, and Hoskin's son, Kenneth Cecil Hoskins worked with him.

Cecil Hoskins modified its bloom mill, so that it could roll slabs and narrow plates, as well as blooms.

Cecil Hoskins was required by the agreement to carry a minimum tonnage over the line.

Understanding the benefits of using technical professionals within the industry, Lewis had set up a rigorous staff-training scheme, in 1927, and made attaining a relevant qualification a prerequisite for promotion of junior staff; in contrast, Cecil Hoskins had a lifelong wariness of tertiary-qualified professionals.

In particular, the alliance of BHP and John Lysaght resulted in a large market share in galvanised and corrugated steel sheet, a product with which the Cecil Hoskins' company had always struggled, but for which there was a strong local market.

Cecil Hoskins had added more coke ovens, but at Wongawilli, not Port Kembla.

Cecil Hoskins was not accustomed to the level of comment and scrutiny associated with running a listed company.

Finally, in April 1935, Cecil Hoskins announced that the company would pay a distribution on its preference shares; the one that had been due for the half year to the end of May 1931.

Cecil Hoskins was not candid with the public, or his shareholders, about the troubles at the sheet mill, the actual profit outlook, or about the other difficulties the company faced.

Cecil Hoskins visited the BHP Newcastle works, ostensibly to look over the plant, then celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Cecil Hoskins had been somewhat out of his depth, and it was time to hand over the enterprise to those who could run it better than he could.

Cecil Hoskins was given the role of general manager at Port Kembla.

However, the old ore deposit at Coombing Park, near Carcoar, was not mined again, apparently showing that Cecil Hoskins was not one to forget an old dispute.

In 1947, the Cecil Hoskins family held the second largest individual shareholding in BHP.

In early 1949, Cecil Hoskins took leave and travelled overseas, after a family tragedy.

Cecil Hoskins retired as general manager of Port Kembla steelworks, in December 1950.

Cecil Hoskins was chairman of Southern Portland Cement Ltd from 1928 to 1957.

Cecil Hoskins stood down as Chairman in 1962, but remained a director during 1962, after which he retired from the board.

Cecil Hoskins subsequently was involved in the formation of the United Australia Party, which absorbed both the Nationalist Party and All for Australia League, in 1931.

Cecil Hoskins was a chairman of the Institute of Public Affairs, in which role he could exert financial leverage, by means of fund raising, over the NSW UAP organisation.

The UAP was absorbed by the Liberal Party, in 1945, and Cecil Hoskins attempted to exert similar financial leverage over the new party.

Cecil Hoskins then served as a Councillor and Chairman of the Consultative Council of the new party.

Cecil Hoskins was a keen supporter of the scouting movement, dating from 1924, the start of his period as chairman of the 1st Edgecliff scout troop.

Cecil Hoskins received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday honours list of 1960.

Cecil Hoskins was made a Knight Bachelor in recognition of his important contribution to Australian industrial and pastoral development.

Cecil Hoskins grew up in a large family, as the second son of a prosperous industrialist, Charles Cecil Hoskins.

Cecil Hoskins was close to and had a lifelong working connection with his supportive younger brother Arthur Sidney Hoskins.

Cecil Hoskins was seen as having inherited his father's hard-edged approach to his workers.

From early in her marriage to Cecil Hoskins, Dorothy, was involved in charitable causes in Lithgow and somewhat of a nascent socialite.

Cecil Hoskins' fourth son, Hugh was a pilot during the Second World War, and afterwards lived at Goulburn.

Originally a small cottage, Charles Cecil Hoskins had it rebuilt as a sizable family home, while his son and new bride were overseas.

Cecil Hoskins had a house named 'Invergowrie' built on the estate in 1936.

Cecil Hoskins employed Paul Sorensen to create a beautiful park-like landscaped garden.

Mrs Cecil Hoskins hosted a housewarming garden party there in October 1937.

Cecil Hoskins designed his own garden and had it planted by Sorensen, who had become a personal friend.

Cecil Hoskins was responsible for the planning and development of Seymour Park, area of 9 acres, in Moss Vale.

Cecil Hoskins died at his home at Moss Vale on 8 March 1971.

Cecil Hoskins' company was the first to attempt to exploit the iron ore resources of Western Australia, which have since become the basis of an immense export industry.

Donald Cecil Hoskins left an extensive collection of material on that subject matter.