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When Sidney Kidman left his Norwood
home, he was thirteen years old and eventually would become 'a legend in his own lifetime'
During the 1880s Kidman made some very important decisions. He sold his share in the
Broken Hill mine, which he came to regret for the rest of his life, went into partnership with his brother Sackville in 1884 and a year later married Bel Wright of
Kapunda. These last two decisions were the best he ever made. In 1887 Kidman bought Thule Station, his first property, went into partnership with Jimmy Nicholas and established a coaching business which would break the Cobb & Co monopoly.
The first real big property bought by Kidman and his brother Sackville was Cowarie Station, pioneered by August Helling in 1875, which they acquired in 1895. A year later the Kidman brothers bought
Owen Springs Station, south of
Alice Springs. Within a few years they added Alton Downs,
Annandale, Caryapundy, Clayton,
Haddon Downs,
Mount Nor'West, Pandi Pandi, Roseberth and Tickalara Stations.
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Sackville Kidman died in March 1899 and from then on Sidney had to look after the running of everything, including the office and business in
Broken Hill, which had always been managed by Sackville. Operating now on his own he established Eringa Station and later that same year bought Austral Downs and Carcoory. In 1900 Kidman, Alexander
Forrest and Isadore Emanuel bought
Victoria River Downs station in the Northern Territory and appointed Denis James Ronan as manager, but sold it again during the drought.
Although hurt badly during the severe drought of 1900-1903 when he lost more than 70,000 head of cattle and had to close several stations, he still managed to buy more stations and even a large house at
Kapunda for his growing family. In 1903 he started on another buying spree and got hold of Carandotta and
Lake Albert, which he sold within six months at a profit of $50,000. In 1904 he added Bullo Downs, Sandringham,
Glengyle,
Peake Downs and several others. Even while holidaying with his family in England he bought more properties, including
Innamincka Station. When Mundowdna station, near
Marree became available he snapped it up, acquiring a terminal at the end of the
Birdsville Track where cattle could be fattened up before going on the train for the
Adelaide market. Eventually he became the world's largest private landowner holding more land than the total area area of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In 1916 Kidman bought, with Edward Peter Tapp, Yancannia, Tindara and Lake Elder Stations. During the First World War, Kidman gave more than generously for the war effort. His donations included wool, meat, horses, ambulances and planes. He promised his employees a job on their return and provided for the widows of those who did not. He also gave substantial donations to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. In money terms it amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. By the end of the war Kidman was also diversifying his business. He became involved in ship and road building and railway and reservoir construction.
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When Kidman moved his office and residence to
Adelaide, he donated his
Kapunda home in 1921 to the Education Department to be used as a High School. This building had been constructed for Alexander Greenshields in 1879. When Kidman bought it in 1901 he named it Eringa. He was knighted in 1921.
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To celebrate Kidman's seventy-fifth birthday, his employees put on a rodeo in
Adelaide on 3 September 1932, which was attended by nearly fifty thousand people. Even today it remains Australia's largest public birthday party ever for a private citizen. Les Daley wrote the poem Kidman's Boys for this special occasion.
Kidman died 2 September 1935, aged 78 years.
His wife Isabel Brown Kidman, died 13 July 1948, aged 86 years.
Both are buried at the Mitcham
Cemetery
S Kidman and Co is still the largest private landholder in Australia, although now on a much smaller scale.
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The
Adelaide suburb of Kidman Park was named after him.
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