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Lang Hancock
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Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George Hancock (10 June 1909 – 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's largest iron ore deposit in 1952 and becoming one of the richest men in Australia, he is now perhaps best remembered for his marriage to the much-younger Rose Porteous, a Filipino woman and his former maid. Hancock's daughter, Gina Rinehart, was bitterly opposed to Hancock's relationship with Porteous. The conflicts between Rinehart and Porteous overshadowed his final years and continued until more than a decade after his death.
Langley ("Lang") Hancock was born on 10 June 1909 in Leederville, Perth, Western Australia. He was the eldest of four children born to Lilian (née Prior) and George Hancock. His mother had been born in South Australia and his father in Western Australia. His father's great-aunt was Emma Withnell, while a cousin was Sir Valston Hancock.
Lang spent his early childhood on the family station, Ashburton Downs, run by the three Hancock brothers. His interest in mining was sparked by his uncle John, who lived at Ashburton Downs and was a keen prospector. Hancock later moved to Mulga Downs Station in the north-west after his father, George Hancock, bought a farming property there. Initially educated at home, at the age of eight he began boarding at the St Aloysius Convent of Mercy in Toodyay. From 1924 to 1927, he attended Hale School in Perth, where he played for the school cricket and football teams. Upon completing his secondary education, he returned to Mulga Downs Station to help his father manage the property.
In 1935, he married Susette Maley. The couple lived at Mulga Downs, but Maley left Hancock to return to Perth, and their separation was formalised in 1944. Also in 1935, Hancock took over the management of Mulga Downs station from his father. He partnered with his schoolmate, E. A. "Peter" Wright, in running the property, later boasting that no deals between the two men were ever sealed with anything stronger than a handshake.
During the Second World War, Hancock served in a militia unit, the 11th (North-West) Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps, and attained the rank of sergeant. On 4 August 1947, he married his second wife, Hope Margaret Nicholas, the mother of his only acknowledged child, Gina Rinehart. He and Hope remained married for 35 years, until her death in 1983 at the age of 66. In 2012, Hilda Kickett, who had long claimed to be Lang Hancock's illegitimate daughter, claimed that the late mining magnate had had an illicit affair with an Aboriginal cook on his property at Mulga Downs, resulting in her conception. Those claims have not been corroborated.
As a child, Hancock showed a keen interest in mining and prospecting from his uncle John Hancock Jr, and discovered asbestos at Wittenoom Gorge at the age of ten. He staked a claim at Wittenoom in 1934 and began mining blue asbestos there in 1938 with the company Australian Blue Asbestos.
The mine attracted the attention of CSR, who purchased the claim in 1943. Hancock retained a 49% share after the sale, but appears to have become quickly disillusioned about this arrangement, complaining that CSR viewed their 51% share as a licence to ignore his views. He sold the remainder of his claim in 1948. The mine would later become the source of much controversy, when hundreds of cases of asbestos-related diseases came to light. He was aware of the dangers of asbestos prior to selling his stake in Australian Blue Asbestos (as recently discovered papers have shown) but never accepted any liability, nor have his companies since his death. Neither the Australian federal government nor the Western Australian state government have pursued his companies for damages as of 2017.
On 16 November 1952, Hancock claimed he discovered the world's largest deposit of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Hancock said he was flying from Nunyerry to Perth with his wife, Hope, when they were forced by bad weather to fly low, through the gorges of the Turner River. In Hancock's own words,
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Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George Hancock (10 June 1909 – 27 March 1992) was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the spheres of business and politics. Famous initially for discovering the world's largest iron ore deposit in 1952 and becoming one of the richest men in Australia, he is now perhaps best remembered for his marriage to the much-younger Rose Porteous, a Filipino woman and his former maid. Hancock's daughter, Gina Rinehart, was bitterly opposed to Hancock's relationship with Porteous. The conflicts between Rinehart and Porteous overshadowed his final years and continued until more than a decade after his death.
Langley ("Lang") Hancock was born on 10 June 1909 in Leederville, Perth, Western Australia. He was the eldest of four children born to Lilian (née Prior) and George Hancock. His mother had been born in South Australia and his father in Western Australia. His father's great-aunt was Emma Withnell, while a cousin was Sir Valston Hancock.
Lang spent his early childhood on the family station, Ashburton Downs, run by the three Hancock brothers. His interest in mining was sparked by his uncle John, who lived at Ashburton Downs and was a keen prospector. Hancock later moved to Mulga Downs Station in the north-west after his father, George Hancock, bought a farming property there. Initially educated at home, at the age of eight he began boarding at the St Aloysius Convent of Mercy in Toodyay. From 1924 to 1927, he attended Hale School in Perth, where he played for the school cricket and football teams. Upon completing his secondary education, he returned to Mulga Downs Station to help his father manage the property.
In 1935, he married Susette Maley. The couple lived at Mulga Downs, but Maley left Hancock to return to Perth, and their separation was formalised in 1944. Also in 1935, Hancock took over the management of Mulga Downs station from his father. He partnered with his schoolmate, E. A. "Peter" Wright, in running the property, later boasting that no deals between the two men were ever sealed with anything stronger than a handshake.
During the Second World War, Hancock served in a militia unit, the 11th (North-West) Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps, and attained the rank of sergeant. On 4 August 1947, he married his second wife, Hope Margaret Nicholas, the mother of his only acknowledged child, Gina Rinehart. He and Hope remained married for 35 years, until her death in 1983 at the age of 66. In 2012, Hilda Kickett, who had long claimed to be Lang Hancock's illegitimate daughter, claimed that the late mining magnate had had an illicit affair with an Aboriginal cook on his property at Mulga Downs, resulting in her conception. Those claims have not been corroborated.
As a child, Hancock showed a keen interest in mining and prospecting from his uncle John Hancock Jr, and discovered asbestos at Wittenoom Gorge at the age of ten. He staked a claim at Wittenoom in 1934 and began mining blue asbestos there in 1938 with the company Australian Blue Asbestos.
The mine attracted the attention of CSR, who purchased the claim in 1943. Hancock retained a 49% share after the sale, but appears to have become quickly disillusioned about this arrangement, complaining that CSR viewed their 51% share as a licence to ignore his views. He sold the remainder of his claim in 1948. The mine would later become the source of much controversy, when hundreds of cases of asbestos-related diseases came to light. He was aware of the dangers of asbestos prior to selling his stake in Australian Blue Asbestos (as recently discovered papers have shown) but never accepted any liability, nor have his companies since his death. Neither the Australian federal government nor the Western Australian state government have pursued his companies for damages as of 2017.
On 16 November 1952, Hancock claimed he discovered the world's largest deposit of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Hancock said he was flying from Nunyerry to Perth with his wife, Hope, when they were forced by bad weather to fly low, through the gorges of the Turner River. In Hancock's own words,