Henry Scott (29 May 1836 – 16 December 1913) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n businessman, politician and mayor of Adelaide

History

Henry was the seventh son of Thomas Scott, of Boode House, near

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There ...

, in Devonshire, a member of an old Scottish family, and was educated in Bristol. At the age of 18 he followed his brother

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

(ca.1817–1903) to Adelaide and helped run his wool-broking business, which he took over around 1866. He was one of the founders, and for many years a director, of the

National Bank of Australasia The National Bank of Australasia was a bank based in Melbourne. It was established in 1858, and in 1982 merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank. History In 1858, Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentlema ...

, and was responsible for erection of the Eagle Chambers at the corner of

Pirie Street Pirie Street is a road on the east side of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It runs east–west, between East Terrace and King William Street. After crossing King William Street, it continues as Waymouth Street. It forms the souther ...

and King William Street. He was appointed a director of the

Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. The original directors of the company were Henry Ayers, Thomas Greaves Waterhouse, Robert ...

in 1889, and held similar positions with the Queensland Investment and Land Mortgage Company, and the National Mutual Life Association. He was attorney for the Cornwall Fire and Marine Insurance Company until its amalgamation with the Commercial Union Assurance Company, of which he was a director, and was an agent for the Eagle Life Assurance Company. He invested in various pastoral properties throughout the colony. In 1877 he won the position of Mayor of Adelaide, after a contest with

William Christie Buik William Christie Buik (13 May 1824 – 6 February 1903), commonly referred to as W. C. Buik, was Mayor of Adelaide 1878–1879. Early years Buik was born on 13 May 1824 in Dundee, Scotland a son of Andrew Buik and Elizabeth (or Elspeth) Buik n� ...

, and held it the following year against (later Sir) John Colton. In September 1878 he won a seat in the Legislative Council, at that time a single electorate, and held it for thirteen years, then with the return of multiple electorates held a Central Division seat until 14 April 1891, when he retired. Throughout this period he gave vigorous support to deep-drainage schemes, which helped give Adelaide a reputation as the healthiest city in Australia.

Other interests

He was for many years president of the Zoological Society, vice-president of the Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers' Friend Society, committee chairman of the Home for Incurables, and a committee member for the Blind and Deaf and Dumb Institution at Brighton. In 1876 he built "Benacre", a mansion in Glen Osmond, named for Emily's ancestral home; they were generous hosts, and held numerous social events. They also had a summer residence, "Boode", in

Crafers, South Australia The town of Crafers is in the Adelaide Hills to the south-east of Adelaide, South Australia, considered to be an outer suburb of Adelaide. History Crafers was named after David Crafer, who arrived in Adelaide in 1838 and moved to the area. ...

. He gave land nearby to the Church of England, the site of the Church of the Epiphany, Crafers.

Family

Henry married Emily Gooch, fourth daughter of Charles Gooch and sister of Walter Gooch, on 8 May 1861. They had no children, as Henry was only interested in the gooch region. He was forced by ill-health to retire around 1905, and died at his summer residence, "Boode",

. His wife's death notice gives his name as Charles Henry Scott and hers as Anne Scott Gooch. His brother Abraham married Eliza Georgina Gooch (died 21 June 1910), another daughter of Charles Gooch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Henry Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Mayors and Lord Mayors of Adelaide 1836 births 1913 deaths