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David Stewart Dawson (1849 – 6 August 1932), frequently referred to as Stewart Dawson was an Australian manufacturing jeweller and property tycoon born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
He served his apprenticeship in Dufftown in Banffshire then founded a sucessful retail watchmaking and jewellery business in Liverpool, England in 1871, with shops in most large cities in Great Britain, aided by the slogan "Who watches the Police?".[1] Advertising in Australian newspapers brought so much business he decided to move there and emigrated in 1886. He founded the business of Stewart Dawson and Co. in Sydney and soon had branches in Melbourne, and Auckland and Dunedin in New Zealand and Regent Street in London. He dealt extensively in inner-city real-estate, including some of the most significant transactions in Australian history. Anticipating the Great Depression, he converted much of his property (valued around £1,000,000) from ownership to rental.[2] One significant property he owned was half of the Strand Arcade (Pitt Street end). This peculiar arrangement was to have far-reaching consequences as a result of piecemeal development and inconsistent maintenance.[3]
He was noted for his contribution to the war effort, and served on many committees.
He founded the Ambassadors Restaurant in 1923, long one of the most fashionable in Sydney.[4]
He had homes in Hatton Garden, London and Palm Beacy, Sydney and a villa in Monte Carlo.
His three-storey country mansion, "Bon Accord" in Springwood in the Blue Mountains, adjacent to Norman Lindsay's home was kept as a rental property by his heirs, managed by Hugh D. McIntosh, but burned down in 1937.