Elcon Baevski Myer
By Rob Upson
Bendigo Historical Society Member
In reading about the life of Sidney Myer (originally Simcha Baevski) I came across one of his brothers named Elcon Baevski who had played no small part in the establishment of the Myer Stores.
Background
Some background to begin with.
‘The Pale of Jewish Settlement’* was inaugurated in 1791 by Catherine the Great being a specified set of districts where all Russian Jews were ordered to live within its boundaries up until 1917 (see map here).
By 1835 it had become an enormous ghetto from which many Jews wanted to escape. In 1878 there were 6 million Jews living there.
The family of Nahum Schur had lived in Kritchev for many generations, near the eastern border of The Pale. He had control of the family drapery business, married young and had two daughters. Only one, Gina Dabrusha Schur survived.
She married Israel Izakel Baevski and they had eleven children of whom four died in infancy. Four daughters and three sons survived.
The sons were Jacob Myer Baevski (1865-1896), Elcon Baevski (1875-1938) and Simcha Baevski (1878-1934). After Nahum Schur died, Gina took over the drapery business.
In 1888 Jacob married, left Kritchev and set up his own business in Tatarsh, 70 miles away.
Elcon and Simcha began to learn the drapery business from their mother. Elcon decided to emigrate to Australia and in October 1896 arrived in Melbourne and met up with a relative, Lasar Slutzkin (1868-1945), who ran a drapery business.
Elcon was offered a job as a country traveller hawking wares for Lasar Slutzkin throughout central Victoria. Simcha arrived in Melbourne in August 1899, via Odessa and Palestine, and began working also for Lasar Slutzkin as a hawker.
Once in Australia Elcon and Simcha adopted Myer as their surname in honour of their older brother, Jacob Myer Baevski, who had unexpectedly died in 1896.
Simcha became known as Sidney Myer and Elcon was referred to as E.B. Myer.
*The word Pale comes from the Latin word Palus meaning ‘stake’ being part of a fence. The English word Pale came to denote an area enclosed by a fence. It also came to mean a sphere of activity, influence, knowledge etc. The expression ‘beyond the pale’ means to go beyond accepted boundaries.
Bendigo's Busiest Drapers
In December 1899 the two brothers left Lasar Slutzkin’s employ and decided to work on their own.
They set up a drapery depot/shop, as a base, in Bendigo in Hargreaves Street near the Savings Bank, named E.B. Myer & Co., Drapers. Elcon managed the stock while Sidney continued hawking their wares around the country towns.
A year later they moved to premises in Pall Mall opposite the Conservatory and called it Myer Bros.
In March 1902 Elcon married Rose Marks, the daughter of a Jewish tailor in Melbourne and the following year he received an attractive offer to again work for Lasar Slutzkin.
Sidney bought out Elcon and became the sole proprietor of the Bendigo business. After a while Elcon established his own business in Melbourne making undergarments and blouses.
As the Bendigo business grew it became apparent that larger premises were required. The business of Craig and Williamson Pty. Ltd. was acquired in 1908, ideally situated with frontages to Pall Mall and Williamson St. When Sidney returned to Melbourne in 1911 to establish his Bourke St Emporium, he asked Elcon to manage the Bendigo business.
World War I
In 1914 at the outbreak of war, Elcon went to London to establish a buying office for the Myer business where he gained a reputation as a skilled buyer. In 1915 a sense of obligation to his adopted country, Australia, saw him volunteer for military service.
Sidney went to London to try and dissuade his brother and offered his services in his stead. Sidney failed to do so and returned to Melbourne.
Elcon enlisted in the British Army Service Corps in 1916 and was later sent to the front where he remained until the Armistice. After being demobilised, he returned to Melbourne in January 1919.
Family and Legacy
Elcon and Rose had two sons, Leslie and Raoul. Leslie eventually became a director of the Myer Emporium while Raoul, also known as Roy Miller, worked in the literary field in England.
Rose died in 1927 and later, Elcon married Myrtle Levy in 1929.
Sidney Myer died suddenly of cardiac failure in September 1934 near his home in Toorak. His Will nominated Elcon as one of three members of the Myer Emporium board and he later became chairman of directors until his death of cancer in 1938.
Elcon is buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery and his Estate for probate was valued at £114,353.
Elcon was involved in many charitable causes and served on the board of The Alfred Hospital. He was also an active member of the St Kilda Synagogue.
Sidney’s widow, Merlyn Baillieu Myer, wrote of Elcon in part, “Personally I am going to miss him greatly. The love and respect for him in the business and his valued influence to all must mean another great loss in the life of the Store”.
Written by Rob Upson
Originally published in Marunari, Vol
50, Issue 5, July 2024.
Published references: Sidney Myer by Ambrose Pratt (1978), Sidney Myer A Life, a Legacy by Stella Barber (2005), Merlyn-The Life of Merlyn Baillieu Myer by Michael Shmith (2021)
