Simply Australia - Australia Helped Create An American President

PAGE 1
PAGE 2
PAGE 3

Herbert Clark Hoover was born on the 10^th of August 1874 in West Branch, Iowa, the son of Quakers Jesse & Hulda Hoover. Orphaned at an early age he was raised by an uncle, working at a variety of odd jobs including office boy in his uncles real estate office he raised the funds to go to university and pursue his ambition of being a mining engineer. He graduated in May 1895 from Stanford University the youngest member of his class with a degree in Geology and Engineering. Known to his friends and family as Bert he was ambitious and driven, spent spring breaks working as an engineers assistant to learn as much as possible about his future trade. After graduating he traveled the U.S. working as a miner to experience all facets of the industry, as a result he had a greater grasp of it then most graduates.

A young Hoover

Professionally frustrated he held a variety of dead end jobs in the American west and when his fortunes seemed at their lowest ebb they would soon change, in 1895 he accepted a job as a typist in the San Francisco office of engineer Louis Janin, unable to find suitable engineering work. He made a good impression on Janin, who appreciated his wasted talents and in 1897 showed young Hoover an advertisement by the British firm "Bewick, Moreing & Company" seeking a mining inspector to survey and oversee its West Australian gold mines. They wanted someone with age and experience to cope with the harsh region and challenging job so specified only applicants be 35 or older need apply, Hoover at the time was 23 but encouraged by Janin to seize a great opportunity abroad lied about his age and experience, told them he was 36 but landed the job largely on the sterling recommendation of the highly regarded friend.

Hoover had been in love for sometime with Lou Henry (1874-1944) the daughter of a wealthy banker he met in a geology lab at Stanford University, but had been unable to support himself adequately let alone support a wife of higher social standing. He told her we was taking a gamble going to Australia but if it paid off he would return a success and marry her, she in kind promised to wait and he soon set sail for Western Australia. He was very nervous, wasn't sure if he would be able to do the job to his employers satisfaction let alone convince them or anyone else on arrival that he was 36, so before leaving the heavy set six footer stopped shaving and allowed his beard to grow to appear more mature.

Hoover arrived around May 1897 which coincided with the last major gold rush of the 19^th century and Western Australia was its epicenter, over 800 gold mines were listed on the London Stock Exchange alone. Leaving Perth he headed out to the township of Coolgardie and would survey a vast area of WA, his main task being to ascertain which mines owned or offered to his employer had potential and which had not by sampling, surveying and evaluating mines. The "Bewick, Moreing & Company" entrusting its financial future to the young mans educated judgment and he was quite stunned by the potential, he wrote to a friend back home, "It's a hell of a country, but the chances of getting on are exceptional, especially with the inside position I now hold".

Next ---->