Emanuel was born in London, a son of
Samuel Moss Solomon (c. 1769 – 13 May 1842) and his first wife Elizabeth née Moses (c. 1772–c. 1814). He and his brother
Vaiben Solomon (1802 – 21 June 1860) were transported to Sydney and served time for larceny, arriving on 1 May 1818 aboard the
Lady Castlereagh. He arrived in South Australia in 1837 and was one of the founders of the
Adelaide Hebrew Congregation. owner Charles Smith, from 1839 to 1842, and from 1843 dedicated to their exclusive use, perhaps ownership, to at least 1847.
Dorset was highly regarded, with superior cabin accommodation, and besides her commercial involvement was often used for family transportation between Sydney and Adelaide. In 1848 he and
Matthew Smith purchased of land on
Spencer Gulf and subdivided it as a township to be known as Port Pirie. Little development occurred on site and by the late 1860s there were only three woolsheds on the riverfront. It was later re-surveyed and became
Port Pirie's suburb
Solomontown, commonly referred to as "Solly". Solomon had reserved a parcel of land for a synagogue, but was never taken up by the few Jews in Port Pirie. A clause in his will left it to whatever denomination should erect a building there, which offer was taken up by the
Bible Christians, who transported a surplus building to the site. Solomon is commemorated for the generosity he extended to
Mary MacKillop. In November 1871 he gave the
Sisters of St. Joseph, who had been evicted from their convent, a house rent free. In December 1871 he hosted a reception for 500 early settlers of South Australia to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the foundation of the colony. Photographer
Henry Jones took photographs of most if not all of those who were invited to attend. He presented a large composite photograph to Solomon, and in 1910 another was purchased from Jones by
T. R. Bowman and donated to the
Public Library for display in the entrance foyer. ==Politics==