Sir Sydney Snow was an Australian businessman and political figure. His obituary in The Canberra Times described him as "one of Australia's greatest political, business and sporting figures".
Early life
Snow was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to Emily and John Snow. He was educated at Ballarat College. His father ran John Snow & Co., a drapery emporium, while his brother Sir Gordon Snow ran Snows Men's Wear.
Business career
In 1912, Snow moved to Sydney and established Sydney Snow Limited with the help of his father and a business partner W. V. Manton. He opened a softgoods store on the corner of Pitt Street and Liverpool Street, opposite the Anthony Hordern & Sonsdepartment store. His business grew and flourished, surviving both world wars, the Great Depression, and increased competition from smaller retailers. He eventually opened a second store in Camperdown in 1951, but retired in 1954 and sold the company to Cox Bros Limited for over £1,250,000. It was reportedly "one of the biggest cash deals in Australian history". Snow developed wide commercial interests. In the 1920s, he was a director of Yellow Cabs of Australia Limited and Sun Newspapers Limited; he was later deputy chairman of Associated Newspapers Limited after it acquired the latter in 1929. In the 1930s he served on the boards of Broken Hill South Limited, General Industries Limited, H. B. Dickie Limited, the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Company, and Commonwealth Industrial Gases Limited. He became president of the Retail Traders' Association of New South Wales in 1937.
Politics and public service
During the Great Depression, Snow helped establish the All for Australia League and was a member of its provisional executive, elected in January 1931. In October, Smith's Weekly reported that he had lent the league £1,000 to pay its debts, but in exchange demanded that the league unite with the Nationalist Party. Previously the league had opposed a merger. The two organisations co-operated at the 1931 federal election and subsequently merged into the New South Wales branch of the United Australia Party in early 1932. He was initially deputy state president of the UAP, and later chairman of its executive and council until his retirement in 1942. During World War II he served on the State Recruiting Committee. He donated his mansion "Bonnie Brae" in Wahroonga to the Red Cross for use as a convalescent home for soldiers.
