Mayoral Portraits, Cornelius Job Ham, E. Goodwyn Lewis, 1883
Summary
Half length portrait of Cornelius Job Ham (Mayor 1881-2).
Cornelius Job Ham ran a real estate office during the land boom of 1880s with his brother Thomas Ham, who was incidentally the first Minister of the Collins Street Baptist Church and the designer and engraver of Melbourne’s Corporate Seal. Before the economic crash of the 1890’s his real estate agency was the third largest seller of properties in Melbourne. After the economic crash Ham became a director of the Metropolitan Gas Company.
Cornelius Ham was a member of Council for almost 40 years without once having to contest his seat, and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for 22 years. In 1870 there was a controversial proposal by the City Council to make a road through the Carlton Gardens. Ham opposed the proposal and stood for council on the issue of preserving parks. He was also active in promoting trams for the city and, as Mayor, helped establish the Working Men’s College, now known as RMIT University.
E. Goodwyn Lewis (1827-1891) may have been a travelling artist, perhaps touring the colonies. All that is known about him is that he exhibited in the Victorian Academy of Arts Annual Exhibition in 1884 and 1885. Many of the works exhibited were studies made on location in Egypt and the Middle East.
