John Colton (politician)

Mary Colton

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(m. 1844;died in 1898)​

The Honourable Sir John Colton KCMG
13th Premier of South Australia
In office 6 June 1876 –26 October 1877

Sir John Blackler Colton, KCMG (23 September 1823 – 6 February 1902) was an Australian politician, Premier of South Australia and philanthropist. ^[2] His middle name, Blackler, was used only rarely, as on the birth certificate of his first son.

Colton, a son of farmer William Colton (died 10 July 1849) and his wife Elizabeth Colton, née Blackler (died 1888), was born in Devon, England. He arrived in South Australia in December 1839 aboard Duchess of Northumberland with his parents and siblings, who settled at McLaren Vale and started a vineyard.

Colton began to work as a saddler in Adelaide. His business eventually grow into a large ironmongery and saddlery business, John Colton and Company, which became Harrold, Colton & Company in 1889, then in 1911 Colton, Palmer and Preston Ltd, ^[3] at the Topham Street corner of Currie Street, which firm survived as hardware merchants well into the latter half of the 20th century.

He gave £100 to start the work on the Pirie Street Wesleyan Church ^[4] where he was an active member for over 50 years. ^[1]

He was created KCMG on 1 January 1891. He died in Adelaide on 6 February 1902. ^[5]

On 4 December 1844, Colton married Mary Cutting (December 1822 – 30 July 1898) who, as "Lady Colton", is remembered as a philanthropist and suffragist. Their family included:

• John William Colton (20 January 1848 – 26 December 1906), partner with brother Alfred, later managing director of Harrold, Colton & Co.
• Alfred Cutting Colton (27 August 1854 – 29 July 1919) married Eliza Bosisto "Lizzie" Stirling (died 19 March 1947), daughter of George Stirling and niece of Joseph Bosisto CMG (died 8 November 1898), ^[6] on 10 February 1887, lived at Lorne, Victoria, then retired to Elsternwick, Victoria, where his brother-in-law, Dr. Robert A. Stirling (1855–1928), had a practice. ^[7]

• John Stirling Colton (23 May 1888 – 12 April 1951) married Dorothy Isabel Hawkes in 1914

• John Blackler Colton (1 August 1918 – 21 December 1996)
• Dr. Robert Stirling Colton (13 August 1921 - 21 December 2015)

• Elizabeth Mary "Bessie" Colton (24 October 1856 – 9 September 1870)
• Edwin Blackler Colton (4 May 1859 – 19 August 1916), solicitor of Adelaide, married Emily Gardner Wallace (died 3 January 1922) in 1884.

• Edwin George Colton (1890–1959)
• Bessie Blackler Colton married Alfred Stanley Langsford in 1912

• Ellen Hannah Colton (18 October 1863 – 12 February 1946) lived with her father in Hackney
• Frank Septimus Colton (25 May 1865 – 22 August 1902) was a medical practitioner in England

References

1. "The Late Sir John Colton". The Chronicle . Adelaide. 15 February 1902. p. 33. Retrieved 9 January 2016– via National Library of Australia.
2. Parr, S. R. "Colton, Sir John (1823–1902)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943 . Retrieved 20 January 2014.
3. "Concerning People". The Register (Adelaide) . Vol. LXXVI, no. 20, 246. South Australia. 2 October 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 27 November 2017– via National Library of Australia.
4. "Odd Aspects Of City Church's Centenary". The Advertiser . Adelaide. 8 July 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2016– via National Library of Australia.
5. Atchley, Chewton (1912). "Colton, John"  . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
6. "The Late Mr. Bosisto's Will". Weekly Times . No. 1, 532. Victoria, Australia. 17 December 1898. p. 17. Retrieved 22 December 2018– via National Library of Australia.
7. "Obituary". The Chronicle (Adelaide) . Vol. LXII, no. 3, 181. South Australia. 9 August 1919. p. 45. Retrieved 22 December 2018– via National Library of Australia.

External links

• Mennell, Philip (1892). "Colton, Hon. Sir John"  . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co. p. 102 – via Wikisource.

Political offices
Preceded by Philip Santo	Commissioner of Public Works 1868 –1870	Succeeded by Friedrich Krichauff
Preceded by William Dixon Allott	Mayor of the Corporation of Adelaide 1874 –1875	Succeeded by Caleb Peacock
Preceded by James Boucaut	Premier of South Australia 1876 –1877	Succeeded by James Boucaut
	Commissioner of Public Works 1876 –1877	Succeeded by George Hawker
New title	Leader of the Opposition of South Australia 1884	Succeeded by John Bray
Preceded by John Bray	Premier of South Australia 1884 –1885	Succeeded by John Downer
Preceded by James Ramsay	Chief Secretary of South Australia 1884 –1885	Succeeded by John Spence
South Australian House of Assembly
Preceded by Alexander Anderson	Member for Noarlunga 1862 – 1870 Served alongside: Charles Hewett, John Carr	Succeeded by James Stewart
Preceded by Charles Myles	Member for Noarlunga 1875 – 1878 Served alongside: John Carr	Succeeded by Thomas Atkinson
Preceded by John Carr	Member for Noarlunga 1880 – 1887 Served alongside: Thomas Atkinson	Succeeded by Charles Dashwood