George Riddoch (10 August 1842 – 23 April 1919) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He was a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from 1893 to 1896, representing Victoria, and a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

for Southern District from 1891 to 1910.

History

Riddoch was born at

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived fr ...

, in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland, and he arrived in Victoria with his parents in 1851. He was educated at the

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Seminary. In 1861 he left for the South-East of South Australia, where his brother

John Riddoch John Riddoch (27 October 1827 – 15 July 1901) was a pastoralist and politician in the State of South Australia, brother and business partner of George Riddoch. History Riddoch was born at Turriff, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and arrived in V ...

(1827–1901) had invested heavily in the pastoral industry. He helped run his Yallum and Katnook stations, near Penola and Weinteriga on the Darling River, New South Wales, which he purchased from

Harrold Brothers Harrold Brothers was a merchant and shipping company in South Australia in the second half of the 19th century, whose principals were brothers Joseph, Daniel and perhaps Henry Harrold, and succeeded by Joseph's sons Arthur, Eyston and Ernest. Fo ...

around 1876. He and his brother purchased Glencoe station, founded by Edward and

Robert Leake Robert Leake (1824 – 1 May 1901) was a British Liberal politician. Leake was the eldest son of Robert Leake of Manchester and Mary Lockett of Salford, Lancashire. After a private education he became head of Lockett, Leake and Company, engraver ...

, which covered and featured a magnificent woolshed now held by the National Trust. When the Riddoch brothers dissolved their partnership in 1898, George took the northern half, which he named "Koorine". John broke up his portion for closer settlement. At his station, near Kalangadoo, north of Mount Gambier, George bred Merino sheep and

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England. It has spread to many countries – there are more than five million purebred Hereford cattle in over fifty nations worldwide. The bre ...

. He later became the owner of the Nalang, Wirriga, and Cannawigra Stations near Tatiara. He was also involved in

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

and wheat growing; at one stage he had some under cultivation.

Politics

His brother John was elected to the district of Victoria in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

with Adam Lindsay Gordon, and served from March 1865 to April 1870 and from December 1871 to April 1873. In 1893 George Riddoch followed his brother as a member of the House of Assembly for the District of Victoria, and served a three-year term. In 1901 he was returned to the Legislative Council as a representative of the Southern District, and retired at the end of 1909. He was recognised as an advocate and defender of primary producers. He was a

National Defence League The National Defence League (NDL) was an independent conservative political party, founded in 1891 by MLC Richard Baker in South Australia as an immediate response to the perceived threat from Labor. Though renamed the Australasian National Lea ...

member throughout his time in parliament.

Other interests

He was an active member of the Mount Gambier Caledonian Society, and served a period as Chief. He and his brother were members of the Adelaide Club. He was involved in a scheme to purchase Adam Lindsay Gordon's cottage " Dingley Dell" for the nation, but failed when the property was sold privately. In 1908 he purchased, in London, Edwin Douglas's oil painting ''Jersey Beauties'', which he presented to the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

Edwin James Douglas (1848 – 22 October 1914) was a Scottish painter in the style of Landseer. The painting was sold by the Art Gallery and is now in private hands. He was a member of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia, and served a term as vice-president. He was a keen horseman, for a time owning several racehorses, and was a member of the local Hunt Club.

Family

Riddoch married Ann Eliza Wilson (ca.1841 – 3 March 1914) on 26 August 1873. She was a daughter of the (Anglican) Rev. James Yalverton Wilson, of

Portland, Victoria Portland is a city in Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 census the population was 10,016, increasing ...

. Their only daughter Adelaide Mary Riddoch (28 May 1874 – 3 January 1904) married (military) Captain George Frederick Napier on 15 March 1898. George and Ann retired to "Corega", Mitcham; the Napiers took over "Koorine".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddoch, George Australian pastoralists Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the South Australian Legislative Council 1842 births 1919 deaths Adelaide Club 19th-century Australian businesspeople