The Collins House Group three main core mining companies were, North Broken Hill, Broken Hill South and Zinc Corporation whose operations began on the rich silver lead-zinc lodes of Broken Hill in the 1890s. It took its name from the location of its premises at 360-366 Collins Street, Melbourne. The ‘Group’ operated from 1911-1951 and had a profound impact on Australian mining, metallurgy and secondary industry in the first half of the twentieth century. The main driving force behind the industrial success of ‘Collins House’ were W.L Baillieu, Colin Fraser and W.S. Robinson who were influential in many of Australia’s key business ventures for many decades.

• William Sydney Robinson