[3] The Phoenix Foundry and Engineering Works did not succeed in making money[1] and so Robert Russell emigrated with his family to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in June 1832, receiving a 810-hectare (2,000-acre) land grant for the purpose of establishing a new foundry.

[4] Russell Bros' business operations consisted of "engineering, brass-founding, and copper-smithing, with iron and machinery stores in Bridge Street".

The firm won contracts for a number of significant works, including "contracts for roads and railway bridges, railway rolling stock, steam dredges, gun boats, and crushing and flour milling machinery".

[9] The 1861 strike was brought on after a proposal to reduce wages and challenge the eight-hour day working condition.

Following a meeting on 16 May 1861, Russell's employees outright rejected the need to lower wages, arguing that the company had a competitive edge in the market due to its wide range of product offerings.

[9] Further, one strike leader argued, "every other shop was paying from twenty to thirty per cent more than Russell's; and in Victoria the iron trade received double the wages they did here [in Sydney], and for eight hours work too.

The industrial action was financially supported by bakers, stonemasons, coal-miners and painters, one of the most significant examples of inter-union cooperation in Sydney's history to-date, having the support of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and the Australian Iron Trades Protective Association.

[9] In January 1862, following a legal challenge on the strike's key organisers, William Collins and J. Patton, the dispute was formally closed at an all-trades meeting, however calls for the eight-hour workday failed.

In December 1865, shareholders of Fitzroy Iron Works voted in favour of a merger with P. N. Russell & Company.

[14] To fund the acquisition, P. N. Russell & Company sought to raise capital, issuing 40,000 shares each at £5 to total £200,000.

[8] The multi-storey factory provided the "exclusive manufacture of railway rolling stock" to the growing Colony of New South Wales.

[18] In 1875 the business was closed after the company enforced a lockout, leading to roughly 600 men losing their jobs.

[23][24] In April 1882, the Directors of the Bank issued a circular to shareholders recommending voluntary liquidation, due to a lack of business.

On 15 February 1904 he made a second gift of A£50,000 to be devoted to engineering scholarships, with the proviso that the government should provide A£25,000 for buildings.

[6] Sculptor Bertram Mackennal was commissioned to create a pair of bronze and granite Edwardian-style memorial statues in his honour.