John Harvey (Australian politician)

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

John Harvey
John Harvey (Salisbury).jpeg
Born(1821-07-22)22 July 1821
Wick, Caithness, Scotland
Died22 June 1899(1899-06-22) (aged 77)
Occupation(s)farmer, horse breeder and politician
Known forFounder of Salisbury, South Australia
Spouse
Ann Pitman
(m. 1843)
Member for Yatala
In office
1857–1860
Servingwith Charles Hare then Richard Andrews

John Harvey (22 July 1821 – 22 June 1899) was a farmer, horse breeder and politician in the early days of the colony of South Australia. He is remembered as the founder of the town of Salisbury, South Australia.

Contents

History

Harvey was born in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. He was of African descent; his father was from the island of St Helena, in the Atlantic Ocean 1900 kilometres (1200 mi) west of the coast of the south-west of Africa. [1] When he was 18, on finishing "a good education", he emigrated to the province of South Australia on the Superb, arriving in October 1839, three years after the establishment of government by British settlers. [2] [3]

In 1844 Harvey went to Gawler, where there was only one house, the "Old Spot"; at that time he was the only non-Aboriginal person living on the plains between Dry Creek and Gawler, a distance of 30 kilometres (19 miles). He drove a mail coach for some time between Adelaide and Gawler before buying land near Gawler and from Port Gawler to Mount Torrens, which he made available to overlanders for agistment of their cattle; he acted as stock agent for some. He next started growing wheat, which proved quite lucrative until farms elsewhere stepped up production and the price dropped from 9 shillings to 2 shillings and 6 pence per bushel in 1846. [2] [note 1] Subsequently he took visitors to Gawler and built houses for many who decided to live there. He also opened a butcher's shop in Gawler, supplying meat to the Adelaide market. His cattle enterprises came to an end when the government changed its policy, rendering his land ineligible for pastoral use. [2]

His next step was to subdivide his land at the Little Para River, about half-way between Adelaide and Gawler, into blocks of 40 acres (16 hectares), 20 acres (8 hectares), and other sizes as required, and sold it on easy terms of payment. He then built houses, shops and hotels. Demand for small residential allotments was strong, so he laid out a township, which he named Salisbury, since his wife came from near Salisbury Plain in England. [2] [note 2] Harvey's building activities in Salisbury included churches and a graveyard. He also laid out the coastal village of St Kilda. [2]

Although not a gambling man, Harvey was, with his friend Seth Ferry, one of the colony's best horse judges. He was prominently involved in the various agricultural show societies and bred racehorses. [2]

He studied the work of a magistrate under the guidance of two eminent jurists, and for many years performed that role at the Salisbury Court. He also acted as Returning Officer for the same district, and was a justice of the peace. [2]

Harvey had a brief but busy political career as a member of the first Parliament of South Australia, elected as a member for Yatala in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1857 to 1860. [4] A plain speaker, he was reported as saying about his tenure:

I knew everybody. People wanted me to go in. I was ready for anything, and was returned for Yatala at the head of the poll. There were thirteen candidates .... Legislation work was not a luxury then. I was almost always in the saddle, having stations at Tanunda and the Burra, besides racehorses to look after. The vital questions were the real property, district councils, Gawler railway, local court, fencing, and impounding Bills.

His experience of real estate matters and the slow, tortuous and insecure processes related to title led him to advocate the sweeping land registration and transfer system devised by his parliamentary colleague Robert Torrens. The "Torrens Title" system, as it became known, was instituted in 1858 by the Real Property Act and remains in place today, having been adopted by many countries and adapted to cover other interests such as mortgages. He was also prominent in establishing the District Council system in South Australia. [2]

Family

He married Ann Pitman (9 June 1826 – 14 August 1917). [5] Their children were:

Notes

  1. In Australian decimal currency, equivalent to 90 cents and 25 cents.
  2. His wife, née Ann Pitman, was the daughter of William Pitman and cousin of the famous English-language polymath, Sir Isaac Pitman.

Related Research Articles

Since 1970, the South Australian House of Assembly — the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia — has consisted of 47 single-member electoral districts consisting of approximately the same number of enrolled voters. The district boundaries are regulated by the State Electoral Office, according to the requirements of the South Australian Constitution and are subject to mandatory redistributions by the South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission in order to respond to changing demographics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Prospect</span> Local government area in South Australia

City of Prospect is an inner urban local government area (LGA) in Adelaide, South Australia. The council seat is the unusually-large suburb of Prospect, which makes up almost two thirds of the tiny council area, which is less than 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi). Established in 1872, it is one of the oldest local government bodies in South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Salisbury</span> Local government area of Adelaide

The City of Salisbury is a local government area (LGA) located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Its neighbours are the City of Playford, City of Tea Tree Gully and City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

Clearview is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia about 8 km north of the Adelaide city centre. The rectangular suburb is bordered by Grand Junction Road on the north, Hampstead Road on the east, Collins Street, Broadview on the south, and the suburb of Enfield on the west.

Grand Junction Road is the longest east–west thoroughfare in the Adelaide metropolitan area, traversing through Adelaide's northern suburbs approximately 8 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewater, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Rosewater is one of the western suburbs of Adelaide and is located 10 km north-west of Adelaide's central business district. Although mainly residential, there are many shops along Grand Junction Road and the closed Rosewater Loop railway line runs through the suburb. Rosewater is split in half by Grand Junction Road and bordered on the east by Addison Road, and on the south by Torrens Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Para River</span> River in South Australia, Australia

The Little Para River is a seasonal creek running across the Adelaide Plains in the Australian state of South Australia, whose catchment fills reservoirs that supply some of the water needs of Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salisbury, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide

Salisbury is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the seat of the City of Salisbury, and is within the South Australian Legislative Assembly electoral district of Ramsay and the Australian House of Representatives division of Spence. The suburb is a service area for the City of Salisbury district, with many parklands, shops, cafés and restaurants.

The District Council of Yatala was a local government area of South Australia established in 1853 and abolished in 1868.

The Robertson Brothers, John Holland Robertson ( –1909), William Robertson and Robert Robertson were pioneer cattle, sheep and horse breeders of South Australia.

Charles Simeon Hare was a politician in colonial South Australia.

Jacob Pitman was an architect, builder and educator in the colonies of South Australia and New South Wales. He was a brother of Isaac Pitman and was associated with his development of shorthand transcription.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Morphett</span> Australian politician

George Morphett was a settler in the colony of South Australia, and younger brother of John Morphett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawler Football Club</span> Australian football club

The Gawler Football Club was an Australian rules football club that was founded in June 1868 based at Gawler in the Township of Gawler about 39 km to the north-north east of Adelaide, South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Yatala</span> Cadastral in South Australia

The Hundred of Yatala is a cadastral unit of hundred in South Australia covering much of the Adelaide metropolitan area north of the River Torrens. It is one of the eleven hundreds of the County of Adelaide stretching from the Torrens in the south to the Little Para River in the north; and spanning from the coast in the west to the Adelaide foothills in the east. It is roughly bisected from east to west by Dry Creek. It was named in 1846 by Governor Frederick Robe, Yatala being likely derived from yartala, a Kaurna word referring to the flooded state of the plain either side of Dry Creek after heavy rain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Port Adelaide</span> Cadastral in South Australia

The Hundred of Port Adelaide is a cadastral hundred covering the vicinity of Port Adelaide, Lefevre Peninsula and the coast of the central Adelaide Plains south of Gawler River and west of Port Wakefield Road. It is one of the eleven hundreds of the County of Adelaide and was named in 1846 by Governor Frederick Robe.

The District Council of Munno Para East was a local government area of South Australia from 1853 to 1958, seated at Uleybury.

The District Council of Hindmarsh was a local government area in South Australia from 1853 to 1875, seated at the inner north west Adelaide suburb of Hindmarsh.

The District Council of Munno Mara West was a local government area of South Australia on the central Adelaide Plains from 1854 to 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gawler bioregion</span> Region in South Australia

Gawler is an interim Australian bioregion located in South Australia. It has an area of 12,002,883 hectares. Gawler bioregion is part of the Tirari–Sturt stony desert ecoregion.

References

  1. Serugga, Gladys (20 May 2023). "Salisbury founder John Harvey's African descent left out of history books". ABC News (Australia) . Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Late Mr. John Harvey". South Australian Register . 24 June 1899. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2024 via Trove.
  3. "A grand old pioneer". South Australian Register . Vol. LXI, no. 15, 402. South Australia. 25 March 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 21 May 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Mr John Harvey". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia . Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  5. Ann was second daughter of William and Emma (née Angel) Pitman, and cousin of Sir Isaac and Jacob Pitman. Ann's brother, Thomas Pitman, of Norwood, South Australia, was a successful builder.
  6. "Mr. W. S. Harvey". Observer . Vol. LXVIII, no. 5, 353. South Australia. 7 October 1911. p. 41. Retrieved 5 February 2025 via National Library of Australia.
South Australian House of Assembly
New creation Member for Yatala
Mar 1857 – 1860
Served alongside: Charles Hare then Richard Andrews
Succeeded by