John Shorter Pty Ltd, commonly known as Shorters, was an Australian manufacturers’ importing agency company, best known as the Australasian agent for the British ceramics firms Royal Doulton and Mintons. John Shorter Pty Ltd remained the Doulton agents in Australia until 1979, when Royal Doulton Australia was established. The family and business were, through two generations, major donors to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney.
Headquarters
Shorter House at 193–195 Clarence Street, Sydney, was completed in 1938 at a cost of £26,000. The building has a frontage of 40 feet and a depth of 83 feet and is of reinforced concrete faced in warm coloured textured brick. On opening, the company occupied the basement, fourth, fifth and sixth floors. The Building was designed by Robertson, Marks and McCreadie.
Shorter family
John Shorter was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1853 and came to Sydney in 1879 to install the Doulton display in the Garden Palace for the Sydney International Exhibition. He died on 30 January 1942. He married his New South Wales-born wife Emily Jane Shorter, née Butler, in 1883. She was an artist and bore Shorter seven children. Their first son, Arthur Shorter, was in born 1884 and was educated at Newington College. He worked for the family company and became a trustee of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. He died in 1957. Their first daughter, Lulu Shorter, was educated at the Wesleyan Ladies’ College and became a china-painter and designer. The Powerhouse Museum have her work in its collection and the National Gallery of Australia hold her designs in pen-and-ink. She died aged 102 in 1989, having never married. Their third child, Austin Shorter, attended Newington College and served in World War I. A slip cast, bone china Royal Doulton figurine, HN322 Digger, was modelled on him by Ernest W. Light. The standing figure is of Austin dressed in military uniform, with the rising sun insignia on his slouch hat. He looks forward, with both hands in the pockets of his breeches, and his right foot slightly forward. The figure is positioned on a dark green enamel circular base, which has the word ‘DIGGER’ incised at the front of the base. Incised on the left hand side of the base is the word ‘LIGHT’, the word incised on the right hand side is less llegible but is ‘HORSE’. Austin became a director of Shorters and died in 1982. Four more daughters were born in the next eight years: Constance in 1891; Elsie in 1893; Dorothy In 1895; and Elaine in 1903.
