Francis de Groot | |
|---|---|
.jpg) de Groot in 1915 | |
| Born | Francis Edward de Groot 24 October 1888 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 1 April 1969(1969-04-01) (aged 80) Dublin, Ireland |
| Education | |
| Occupations | Soldier, furniture maker |
| Spouse | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom Australia |
| Branch |  British Army Australian Army |
| Service years | UK: 1907–1919 Australia: 1942–1944 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | |
| Conflicts | |
Francis Edward de Groot (24 October 1888 – 1 April 1969) was an Irish-Australian soldier and furniture maker. He is best known for dramatically interrupting the official opening of theSydney Harbour Bridge in 1932, attempting to slash the ribbon with a military sword while on horseback.
De Groot was born inDublin, Ireland into a family of artisans. He left school at a young age and joined theMerchant Navy, later serving an apprenticeship with his uncle, an antiques dealer. He first lived in Australia from 1910 to 1914, working forAngus & Robertson as an antiques buyer. De Groot returned to Ireland in 1914 and enlisted in theBritish Army, having previously served with reserve units. He saw active service on theWestern Front and finished the war with the rank of captain. In 1920, de Groot returned to Australia and established his own furniture-making business inSydney, producing replicas of 18th-century furniture styles in Australian timber. He serviced a number of commercial clients and high-profile individuals from a workshop inRushcutters Bay.
De Groot was a fascist and joined the paramilitaryNew Guard in 1931, taking part in clashes with left-wing groups. His disruption of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was designed to embarrass state premierJack Lang, a particular target of the New Guard. He was arrested on the spot and charged with minor offences, receiving a small fine; he later successfully sued the police for wrongful arrest. Photographs and films of De Groot's actions were widely published and made him a significant public figure, although he played little further role in the New Guard. He continued his work as a furniture manufacturer and duringWorld War II served with the Australian military, eventually retiring back to Ireland.
De Groot was born on 24 October 1888 in centralDublin. He was the son of Mary (née Butler) and Cornelius De Groot. His father's family was ofDutch Huguenot ancestry.[1] He came from "a dynasty of carvers and gilders"; his father was a wood carver and sculptor, while his paternal grandfather exhibited wood carvings at theGreat Exhibition of 1851 andIrish Industrial Exhibition of 1852.[2]
De Groot attendedBlackrock College andBelvedere College in Dublin. He joined theMerchant Navy at the age of thirteen, but later took up an apprenticeship with his uncle Michael Butler, an antiques dealer, for whom he worked for five years in Dublin and London. He remained involved with the military, joining theSouth of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry in 1907 and serving for six months with the5th Dragoon Guards in 1909.[1]
In 1910, de Groot immigrated to Australia and settled inSydney. He soon came into contact with bookseller and antiquarianGeorge Robertson, one of the founders of theAngus & Robertson bookstore chain, and his associateFrederick Wymark. Robertson had tasked Wymark with opening a gallery attached to Angus & Robertson'sCastlereagh Street store selling art and antiquities. De Groot's connections in Dublin andLondon proved useful to Wymark and he serviced a number of significant clients includingEadith Walker,Samuel Henry Ervin,Thomas Anderson Stuart,William Dixson, theVickery family and theHordern family.[2] In his memoirs he recalled that Robertson had given him a budget of £10,000 (equivalent to $1,600,000 in 2022) to acquire items for resale by Angus & Robertson.[1]
De Groot returned to Ireland on the outbreak ofWorld War I and enlisted in the15th Hussars, a cavalry regiment. He saw active service on theWestern Front, later transferring to a tank battalion with the rank of acting captain.[1] He was present for theBattle of the Somme in 1916 and theBattle of Passchendaele in 1917. He was discharged in 1919, with his discharge delayed by his recovery fromSpanish flu.[3]
In October 1919, de Groot married Mary Elizabeth Byrne inDonnybrook, Dublin.[1] They had first met in 1910 prior to de Groot's initial departure to Australia. After their marriage they took advantage of aWar Office scheme which provided free passage to the Dominions for returned soldiers.[4] They arrived in Sydney in May 1920 and de Groot established his own business as an antique dealer and manufacturer of reproduction furniture. De Groot's Auction Rooms opened inPhillip Street in 1921 and later shifted to Bent Street.[2] Specialising inQueensland maple, his business proved immensely successful and by 1927 he was reportedly employing 200 artisans at his workshop inRushcutters Bay.[1] However, it has been suggested that the figures he claimed "seem implausible given the size of the Australian furniture market in the 1920s".[2]
De Groot had a particular interest in 18th-century furniture styles, translatingChippendale,Adam andWilliam and Mary styles into Australian timbers "with concessions to 20th century housekeeping".[2] One of his most significant commissions in the 1920s was a refit of theDavid Jones department store chain.[1] In 1934 he received a major commission fromThe Australia Hotel in Sydney, and the following year he designed a furniture suite for Governor-GeneralIsaac Isaacs to be installed atGovernment House, Canberra. De Groot exhibited withThe Society of Arts and Crafts of NSW in 1937 and advertised widely in interior design publications such asThe Australian Home Builder andThe Home. Outside of furniture he also collected china, silver,Waterford Crystal, and Persian rugs.[2]
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During the 1930s, de Groot joined a fascistparamilitary organisation called theNew Guard, which was politically opposed to the more left-wing government and the socialist views of NSW Premier Jack Lang. Many of the members of the New Guard were men who had served in World War I.[5]
Seeking to attack leftist meetings, de Groot organised groups of 1,000-strong groups of New Guard members throughout December 1931, commenting later that "the best reply to force, was greater force...seeing that we could command the greater force, [I] saw no reason why it should not be employed".[6]
He became famous when, on 19 March 1932, he upstaged Lang at the opening of theSydney Harbour Bridge, before a crowd of 300,000 people.[5] He was not a member of the official party but, on horseback and dressed in his military uniform, he was able to blend in with the escort party of NSW Lancers. Lang was about to cut the ribbon to formally open the bridge, when de Groot rode forward and drew his ceremonial sword, attempting to cut the ribbon and declare the bridge open "in the name of the decent and respectable people of New South Wales".[7] While many accounts say de Groot succeeded in slashing the ribbon, at least one eyewitness has disputed the claim and suggested it was probably broken by the hooves of his rearing horse.[8]He said this was in protest that theGovernor of New South Wales, SirPhilip Game, had not been invited to perform the ceremony. The Mayor of North Sydney,Hubert Primrose, an official participant at the opening ceremony, was also a member of the New Guard, but whether he was involved in planning de Groot's act is unknown.[citation needed] De Groot was also said to have later joined theWhite Army, another fascist organisation founded inVictoria in 1931.[9]
W. J. Mackay, Chief of theCBI pulled de Groot from his horse, arrested him, and confiscated his ceremonial sword. Initially he was taken to a small police station attached to the toll house on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Later in the day he was sent to the Lunatic Reception House atDarlinghurst, where he was formally charged with being insane and not under proper care and control.[10] On the same afternoon de Groot was examined by Eric Hilliard, psychiatrist and medical superintendent of Parramatta Mental Hospital, who determined that de Groot was not insane. The following day de Groot was examined by W.S. Dawson, Professor of Psychiatry at theUniversity of Sydney, and by John McPherson. Both doctors found him to be completely sane.[11]
On 21 March 1932, de Groot appeared before Mr. McDougall, Stipendiary Magistrate, for the hearing of the charge of insanity. Detective Superintendent Mackay gave evidence to the effect that de Groot's actions on the Bridge were those of an insane man. Subsequently, Eric Hilliard gave his opinion, based on his examination of de Groot, that de Groot was sane. The magistrate subsequently ordered de Groot's discharge from the Reception House.[12]
De Groot was subsequently charged with three offences. The three charges brought against him were:
The charges were heard on 1, 4, 5, and 6 April 1932 in the Central Police Court in Liverpool Street, Sydney before John Laidlaw, Chief Stipendiary Magistrate of New South Wales.[14]
While the first and third charges laid against him were dismissed, the Magistrate did find de Groot guilty of offensive behaviour in Bradfield Highway – a public place. He was fined the maximum penalty of £5, with £4 in costs. The Magistrate found that "... the actions of the defendant were grossly offensive, provocative, and clearly unlawful".[15]
Later, de Groot sued the Commissioner of police for wrongful arrest, and case was eventually settled out of court with de Groot receiving damages amounting to £69/1/9 (£69.09 or $138.18).
The horse ridden by de Groot at the opening ceremony was a 16.2-hand chestnut named "Mick". The horse belonged to aPymble schoolgirl, Margo Reichard, and was borrowed by the leader of the New Guard,Eric Campbell, from her father Albert Reichard. After the escapade, the horse was initially taken to the Mounted Police Barracks before being returned to its owner. In about 1933 the horse had a fall while being ridden by Albert Reichard, and was put down.[16]
After the court case he sued for wrongful arrest on the grounds that a police officer had no right to arrest an officer of the Hussars. An out-of-court settlement was reached, and de Groot's ceremonial sword was returned to him. He later returned to Ireland, where he died on 1 April 1969.
Before his death, de Groot indicated he would like to see the sword returned to Australia. In 2004, the sword was found on a farm inCounty Wicklow, in the possession of de Groot's nephew. Plans were announced to have it valued and returned to Australia, possibly as a display at theNational Museum of Australia. However, the museum was outbid by Paul Cave, the founder and chairman ofBridgeClimb Sydney, the tourism company that conducted climbs across the Harbour Bridge. The sword was presented to Bridge Climb Sydney by prior students of Blackrock College, de Groot's old school, during a school reunion for ex-students now living in Australia.
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