1.
Premier of South Australia
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The Premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature, the current Premier is Jay Weatherill, the Leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Weatherill replaced Mike Rann on 21 October 2011, after Rann resigned as Premier, before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from the 1893 election to 1905 election with the support of the South Australian United Labor Party, Labor took government with the support of eight dissident liberals in 1905 when Labor won the most seats for the first time. The rise of Labor saw non-Labor politics start to merge into various party incarnations, Labor formed South Australias first majority government after winning the 1910 state election, triggering the merger. The 1910 election came two weeks after federal Labor formed Australias first elected majority government at the 1910 federal election, no Country or rural conservative parties emerged as serious long-term forces in South Australian state politics, often folding into the main non-Labor party. There are six living former premiers, the oldest being Steele Hall, the most recent premier to die was John Bannon on 13 December 2015. In the following timeline, the legend includes the Liberal and Democratic Union, the Liberal Union, the Liberal Party of Australia is represented as Liberal only. The grey area represents the duration of Playmander electoral malapportionment, beginning in 1936, in effect until the 1970 election
2.
Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
3.
Richard Graves MacDonnell
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Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell KCMG CB was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, judge and colonial governor. His posts as governor included Governor of the British Settlements in West Africa, Governor of Saint Vincent, Governor of South Australia, Governor of Nova Scotia and Governor of Hong Kong. Several places around the world are named for him including MacDonnell Road in Hong Kong, and and he was a nephew of Robert James Graves and the brother of Major-General Arthur Robert MacDonnell. His first cousins included Lady Valentine Blake of Menlough, Sir William Collis Meredith, Edmund Allen Meredith, John Dawson Mayne and Francis Brinkley. MacDonnell entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1830, was elected a scholar in 1833, MacDonnell was called to the Irish bar in 1838, and to the English bar, at Lincoln’s Inn,25 January 1841. On 20 July 1843, he was appointed to the new post of Chief Justice of the Gambia, but, on 1 October 1847, Grey persuaded him otherwise and appointed him Governor of the British settlements in Gambia, a post he held for a further four years. While in Gambia, MacDonnell spent much of his time indulging his passion for exploration and his expeditions opened up the interior of Africa from the Gambia River to the Senegal River. The military expeditions which he accompanied against native tribes who had oppressed the traders of the river were a success. On one visit to a native king an ambush was laid for him, in return, the British government sent four hundred men to inflict a summary chastisement, with MacDonnell acting as Captain of one of the volunteer companies. In 1852, he was nominated as Lieutenant Governor of St. Lucia and he was Lieutenant General of St Vincent from 1853 to 1854. Shortly before leaving for Australia, in 1856 he was made Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael, eventually a two-house system prevailed, although the Upper House had a property franchise. Difficulties between MacDonnell and his officials led to changes of government. He extended railway and telegraph communications within the colony and opened up valuable copper mines on the Yorke Peninsula, MacDonnell showed little concern for the Australian working class, claiming that charity fostered sloth and pauperism. He was particularly impressed with the settlers from Germany, and he predicted that the colony had a future for producing wine. In his seven-year term the acreage under wheat doubled in South Australia, MacDonnells passion for exploration greatly aided in opening up the interior of Australia, in particular the Murray River, and he developed many of the natural resources of the colony. He travelled widely in the colony and in 1859 led a party to investigate country around the northern lakes and claypans. He instead urged the colonists to support the efforts of John McDouall Stuart to cross the continent, MacDonnell was regarded in Australia as both powerful and hospitable. He was an member of local rifle and archery clubs
4.
Richard Hanson (Australian politician)
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Hanson was born in London, the second son of Benjamin Hanson, a fruit merchant and importer, and was educated at a private school in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire. Admitted a solicitor in 1828, he practised for briefly in London, Hanson joined the Globe as a political critic early in 1837. In 1838 he went with Lord Durham to Canada as assistant commissioner of inquiry into crown lands, Hanson worked with Dominick Daly in Canada. In 1840, on the death of Lord Durham, Hanson settled in Wellington and he there acted as crown prosecutor, but in 1846 moved to South Australia. On his arrival in the colony of South Australia in 1846 and he served as Advocate-General and Attorney-General for the colony before election to the seat of City of Adelaide in 1857. In 1851 Hanson was appointed advocate-general of the colony, initially as a replacement for the ailing William Smillie. In 1856 he was attorney-general in the first ministry under Boyle Travers Finniss, becoming premier himself in 1857. Among the acts passed were the first patents act, an act, a partial consolidation of the criminal law. He also passed an act legalizing marriage with a deceased sister, the first of its kind in the Empire. After leaving parliament, Hanson replaced Sir Charles Cooper as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1861 and he was knighted in 1869 by Queen Victoria when he visited England, and was acting Governor of South Australia for 1872–73. In his spare time Hanson gave much time to theological studies and his publications include Law in Nature and Other Papers, The Jesus of History, Letters to and from Rome, The Apostle Paul, and the Preaching of Christianity in the Primitive Church. He died in Australia on 4 March 1876, freemasonry was an integral part of Hansons personal life. Later he was to rise in position within the Lodge, which exists to the present day. Richards brother William Hanson was an architect and engineer who played a role in the early history of South Australias railways. In 1837 Hanson Street in Adelaide was named after him, the street was later subsumed by the expanded Pulteney Street in 1967. The Parliament of South Australia lower house seat of Hanson, created in 1970, the South Australian town of Hanson was also named after him. Judiciary of Australia Boase, George Clement, Hanson, Sir Richard Davies, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP,1972, pp 336–340. Retrieved 20 January 2009 Serle, Percival and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
5.
George Waterhouse (politician)
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George Marsden Waterhouse was a Premier of South Australia from 8 October 1861 until 3 July 1863 and the seventh Premier of New Zealand from 11 October 1872 to 3 March 1873. George Waterhouses father, Rev John Waterhouse, was superintendent of the Wesleyan Missions in Australia and Polynesia. Waterhouse was aged 15 when his family migrated in 1839, initially to Hobart, four years later he moved to Adelaide and set up business as a merchant. He was first elected to parliament in the district of East Torrens in August 1851. He resigned 3 years later, was elected again in 1857 and he supported economic development of the colony through free trade and was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council again in 1860, where he advocated uniform tariffs for Australia. He was chief secretary in the First Reynolds Ministry from May 1860 to February 1861, in 1864 he retired from South Australian politics and spent some time in England. Waterhouse migrated to New Zealand in 1869 and on 13 May 1870 was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council and he was in the Fox Ministry from 30 October to 20 November 1871, and in October 1872 became premier without portfolio. He resigned in March 1873 finding that as a member of the house it was impossible to keep control of his ministry. He remained a Legislative Council member until his resignation on 30 June 1890, Waterhouse fell into ill-health and retired to England in 1889, and died at Torquay, Devonshire on 6 August 1906. Waterhouse had his career both in Australia and New Zealand, but it was hampered by the poor state of his health. He has the distinction of having been the premier of two colonies. Despite this distinction, Waterhouse never received a knighthood or a peerage for his services in governing two colonies and he married Lydia Giles, a daughter of William Giles, on 5 July 1848. One of their two adopted daughters married William Fitzherbert in 1876, parliament of South Australia New Zealand Prime Ministers
6.
Samuel Davenport
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Sir Samuel Davenport KCMG was one of the early settlers of Australia and became a landowner and parliamentarian in South Australia. Davenport was fourth son of George Davenport, a wealthy English banker, and his wife Jane Devereux, née Davies, George Davenport sent his eldest son Francis to select the land, and Francis arrived in Adelaide in February 1840. After initially considering land near Port Lincoln, he selected land on the reaches of the River Angas. Francis returned to England in 1841, leaving Henry Giles to manage his affairs, Samuel married Margaret Fraser Cleland on 1 June 1842. She was to become a noted philanthropist, closely associated with Emily Clark, Lady Colton, Samuel, his wife and another brother Robert Davenport went to Australia in February 1843 accompanying Francis and his wife Sarah on their return. Francis died on 8 April 1843, and the brothers lived at Macclesfield. Samuel continued to receive an allowance from his father. Davenports first ventures after moving to Australia from England were in mixed farming, almonds and vines and he then tried sheep-farming with approximately 6000 sheep, but disease killed half of them. In 1860 he bought land near Port Augusta, and turned to ranching horses and he realised from his success that large-stock holdings made healthy profits in South Australia. From 1849 he lived mostly at his home in Beaumont, in his residence of Beaumont House and he continued to care for the welfare of tenants at Macclesfield, providing attractive rental terms. Between 5 May 1846 and 1 July 1848, Davenport was a nominated member of the South Australian Legislative Council. Between 1849 and 1852 he served as a city commissioner and he contested the Legislative Council seat of Hindmarsh without success in a by-election during 1854, but on 25 October 1855 was nominated to the part-elective Legislative Council. He was eventually elected to the first Legislative Council under responsible government in 1857 and he served a number of ministries, however he resigned from the council on 25 September 1866. Davenport strongly promoted agriculture and other new industries in South Australia, between 1864 and 1872 he published a number of pamphlets, three of them dealing with the cultivation of olives and manufacture of olive oil, silk and tobacco. Davenport grew both olives and silk on his Beaumont House estate and he was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1873 to 1879 and 1890 to 1891. He was a member of the South Australian Institutes Board of Governors and he was elected to a number of positions in the agricultural, horticultural and geographical societies. He was also a banker like his English father. Davenport was knighted during 1884 and in 1886 appointed KCMG and given a doctorate by the University of Cambridge
7.
Arthur Blyth
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Sir Arthur Blyth KCMG, CB was Premier of South Australia three times, 1864–65, 1871–72 and 1873–75. The son of William Blyth and his wife, Sarah Wilkins, he was born at Birmingham, England on 21 March 1823. His formative years were spent in Birmingham, and he was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School and he interested himself in municipal work and was a member of the central road board. In 1855 he was elected for Yatala in the old legislative council, on 12 June 1858 he was given the same position in the Hanson ministry, which remained in power until May 1860. In October 1861 he became Treasurer of South Australia in the Waterhouse ministry which, however, was reconstructed nine days later, when Blyth dropped out. He came back to the ministry, however, as Treasurer in February 1862 and he was a member of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president for the year 1867–68. Blyth resigned on 22 March 1865, was Treasurer in the third ministry formed by Henry Ayers but was out of again in little more than a month. In March 1866 he became Chief Secretary in James Boucauts first ministry from March 1866 to May 1867 and he was Treasurer again in the first John Hart ministry in September 1868, but this ministry was defeated three weeks later. On 22 July 1873 he again became premier and this took the portfolio of Chief Secretary of South Australia. This ministry was a stable one and lasted until June 1875. It succeeded in doing something for immigration, and after a stern fight passed a free, secular and this was defeated in the council. It succeeded, however, in passing an act incorporating the University of Adelaide, from 10 February 1875 to 21 February 1877 he represented North Adelaide. On 25 March 1876 Blyth became Treasurer in the third Boucaut ministry which resigned less than three months later, in February 1877 he was appointed agent-general for South Australia in London and held the position capably for many years. He was a councillor of the Oxford Military College in Cowley and he was a representative of South Australia at the 1887 colonial conference. Blyth died in Bournemouth, England on 7 December 1891 and his widow died two weeks later, on 21 December. Arthurs younger brother, Neville Blyth, had a significant political career, Arthur Blyth married Jessie Ann Forrest, a daughter of Edward Forrest of Birmingham, on 5 March 1850, she died two weeks after her husband. Emily Grant Blyth married Robert Grant Murray R. N. R. on 23 August 1893 James Neville Blyth, in 1885 he was jailed for a year for passing valueless cheques. Frances Eleanor Blyth married Wiliam Briggs Sells on 16 January 1877, the Hundred of Blyth in the Mid North of South Australia, and hence the later township of Blyth, was named for him in 1860 by Governor MacDonnell
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Reynolds, Hon. Thomas". The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co. Wikisource
