Identifiernot specifiedPhotographernot specifiedDescriptionEdward Amor, naval figure, councillor and Asquith storekeeper. Amor was one of the great personalities in the Shire between the wars.
Born in Devon, England, in 1875, Edward Amor trained at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. Those were the days when the British Fleet ruled the seas and Amor graduated as an assistant engineer in 1892.
His naval career took him to many places, including China, South America, the West Indies and the Mediterranean. His first visit to Australia was in 1905 and he returned to serve for three years on the H.M.S.Psyche, concluding when war broke out in 1914.
Having attained the rank of captain, Amor served extensively in WWI, including a period in Egypt, where he was awarded with the Order of the Nile. After the war, he was appointed on loan to the Australian Navy as Fleet Engineer Officer.
Amor could see great opportunities in Australia and he resigned form the navy in 1923. He and his wife, Helena, established a garage and general store at Asquith.
The Pacific Hwy had not then been built, but Amor correctly speculated that a road would be built along the course of the old Peat’s Ferry Rd of 1848. His original premises were on the station side of the old road at Asquith.
Not unexpectedly, he became an outspoken advocate of the construction of the highway to Newcastle. When work began on the new major road, Amor turned his eloquence on the Hornsby Chamber of Commerce, stating, “By the grace of God, and the help of the Council and the Main Roads Board, the road to Asquith and the British Dominions beyond is now being constructed’’.
Captain Amor was a man of unusual distinction and experience in his contemporary Asquith. He had seen Lawrence of Arabia when he was in Egypt and he had met Roald Amundsen, the Antarctic explorer.
He pushed strongly to have the road built to the north and fought as a councillor to have improvements to the ramp leading to the bridge over the railway at Asquith.
Amor also pushed strongly for the extension of the water supply to areas in Mt Colah and Mt Kuring-gai. He also offered some constructive criticism over the choice of ferries to cross the Hawkesbury before the road bridge was built.
An impressive person, he was in demand at functions. When WW II broke out, he offered his services, although aged 64, and was involved in a number of wartime projects as a captain engineer.
Captain Amor died in 1954. With him passed a trove of memories of the great days of the British Empire and the early days of the district he came to love and serve.DimensionsTom Richmond Collection
