Historical information

Richard Hartley Smith Abbott b 1858 – d 1940
Born in Bendigo, his mother remarried Joseph Henry Abbott in1860 after his father died. He adopted his stepfathers surname in 1884. Abbott attended Bendigo High School and St Andrews Scotland. Returning to Australia in 1879 he became proprietor of the Abbott Supply Company, a had a variety of business interests including Director of the Sandhurst Building Society, the Bendigo Gas Company, and several local mining enterprises. He owned farms at Lyell, Mandurang and Eppalock, and was a pioneer of lucerne cultivation and tanning. In 1887, Abbott became a councillor for Strathfieldsaye Shire, a position he held for fifteen years. He was Shire President (1901–02) and a Bendigo City councillor (1904–09; 1913–19), serving as Mayor of Bendigo between 1917 and 1918.
Co-founder and President of Bendigo Art Gallery and originator of the RHS Bequest Fund to support acquisitions. Abbott Court a section of the gallery is named in his honour.
In 1884, Abbott married Mary Hannah Gibbs and together they had eight children.

Physical description

Three quarter studio photographic portrait of Cr R.H.S. Abbott wearing fur collared mayoral robes and chain. Photograph has hand painted details. Window mounted. Gold ornate frame.

Inscriptions & markings

Cr R.H.S. Abbott / Mayor of Bendigo 1917 - 18 /
Recto lr: 'Vincent Kelly Bendigo'