Henry Luke WhitePrint Page

The Emergency Ward building at the Scott Memorial Hospital was erected to commemorate Henry Luke White for his services to the community. Henry Luke White was a generous benefactor to the hospital. 

Henry Luke White (1860-1927), pastoralist and philanthropist, was born on 9 May 1860 at Anambah, near Maitland, New South Wales. Qualifying as a surveyor in 1884, 'H.L.' (as he was known in the family) next year became manager of Belltrees, near Scone.

In 1905 White instructed his architect J. W. Pender to design a large, good, plain, brick homestead at Belltrees. Completed in 1907, the house had fifty-two rooms and fifty-seven squares of verandah. The station's population of some 250 was provided with a store and post office, community hall, chapel, cricket pitch, and with the means for lavish celebrations on Queen Victoria's birthday; from 1912 White photographed station life. He released trout fingerlings in the creeks, established a plantation of a thousand eucalypts, and peppered the government botanist J.H. Maiden and departmental heads with dozens of inquiries.

A member of the provisional council in 1906, White was foundation president of Woolooma (Upper Hunter) Shire Council until 1927. Threatened by a Federal land tax in 1911 and 'tired of the worry of management', he offered to sell 56,657 hectares for closer settlement; because the area was mountainous and too far from a railhead, the government refused the proposal. By 1915 the sale of 16,188 hectares on the open market brought some relief. The family firm subscribed generously to war loans and presented two aeroplanes to Britain.

After World War One White spent more time entertaining family and friends, and following polo and cricket (he sat in the same seat in the members' stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch every Test played there for twenty-five years). He made substantial gifts to the Church of England, the Scone hospitals, the Liberal and Reform Association, and other causes. He quietly helped local people and the unfortunate, and gave sweets to children who opened gates for him. Survived by his wife, son and two daughters, White died of cancer on 30 May 1927 at Belltrees and was buried in Muswellbrook cemetery.

 

Location

Address:	Stafford Street, Scott Memorial Hospital, Scone, 2337
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -32.051806 Long: 150.786236 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Structure
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Humanitarian
Link:	http://adb.anu.edu.au/

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Saturday 21st September, 1929

Source: MA, ADB