Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Friday 2 April 1926, page 8


OBITUARY.

MR. P. G. HORDERN, M.L.C.

Mr. Percy Grose Hordern, M.L.C., who for more than four decades was closely associated with the commercial and political life of Sydney, died yesterday morning in the Lewi-sham Hospital. Thus ended a long illness,   which had been sufficiently severe to keep him away from the arena he so passionately loved—the Legislative Council. It is the strangest of coincidences that he died a few days after the man who was unofficially re-garded as his "pair"—Mr A. Brown, M.L.C.

Though his illness kept him out of the recent stirring events in the Council, Mr. Hordern followed them with an interest and acuteness that to many people seemed re-markable. But politics were a lifelong love

with him—a love that was engrossing even as far back as the days when, fresh from Newington, he went into business in Georgestreet, on the corner where the premises of Anthony Hordern and Sons, Ltd., now stand.

He was a native of Sydney—born in Liver-pool-street, Darlinghurst, and a son of the late Mr. Edward Hordern, brother of the original Mr. Anthony Hordern—and he ex-hibited a keen interest in the development of the city. So, besides his politics, he culti-vated a new responsibility by becoming an alderman of the Petersham Council. This position he held for 22 years, for eight of which he was Mayor. At the age of 21 he married Miss Annie Wright.

A few years later he stood for Parliament. Those were the stirring days of Labour's in-fancy, and as one of the first Labour candi-dates he contested the Petersham seat. He was defeated, but his interest in politics re-mained undiminished.

In 1902 he retired from business, and though he had lived quietly ever since he had main-tained a vigorous interest in political and municipal affairs. It was in recognition of his valuable work that he was appointed in 1921—when the Storey Government was in power—a member of the Legislative Council. There he worked vigorously.

Although polities were his dominating in-terest, he found time for several other activi-ties. He was a prominent Freemason and an enthusiastic member of the Petersham Bowling Club.

Mr. Hordern is survived by Mrs. Hordern, five sons—Messrs. Henry, Gilbert, Frederick, Frank, and Bertie Hordern—and five daugh- ters—Mrs. N. Bull, Mrs. Jack Greer, and Misses Vera, Madge, and Jean Hordern. The funeral will leave his late residence, Croy-don-street, Petersham, at 2.30 p.m. to-day, for the Rookwood Cemetery.