Harry Dickson Gell


Harry Dickson Gell SM FCPA was an accountant in South Australia.

History

Gell was born in Chelsea, England, the third son of Charles and Arabella Gell, née Dixon, who emigrated to South Australia aboard John Munn in September 1849 with their three sons Charles, Richard and Harry.
Charles Gell, who had some experience at the firm of Morewood & Rogers, opened a hardware store in Hindley Street specializing in galvanized tin ironware. He then left for the goldfields of Victoria, but had no luck and lost most of his assets and capital.
Nothing has been found of Harry Dickson Gell's early years. At age 13 he was employed at Hamilton Brothers' store at Port Adelaide. Around 1860 he was in Wallaroo. Later he was in partnership as storekeepers in Kadina with Robert Newman Wells as Wells & Gell; proved insolvent 1865.
In 1866 he was in Robe, working for Ormerod & Co., shipping agents; he married in 1867.
By 1870 he was in Adelaide working as a clerk and debt collector for Kingsborough & Chapman; in 1874 secretary to the City Permanent Building and Investment Society. By 1878 was in business for himself as a liquidator with offices in Gresham Chambers, Pirie Street, Adelaide.
From 1878 he was a public accountant, land broker, and estate agent with both home and offices in Shannon Street, Glenelg.

Other interests

Gell was
He married Emma Jane Hooper of Kadina on 25 September 1867. He married again in 1894, to Anne Elizabeth Webster.
They had a home "Tainan" in Glenelg
His brother Charles Gell was connected with shipping and commercial business at Robe and Kingston for many years.