Henry Alexis Tardent (1 March 1853 – 5 September 1929) was a Swiss-Australian writer and agricultural scientist in Queensland. He was politically left-wing and wrote for the labour-aligned '' Daily Standard'' for many years.

Early life

Tardent was born on 1 March 1853 in Le Sépey, Vaud, Switzerland. He was the son of French speakers Marie Louise (née Perrod) and Louis Marc Samuel Tardent. After being educated in local schools, Tardent travelled through Eastern Europe and eventually matriculated from Odessa University. He spent time in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, the Ukraine and

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

and learned Polish, German, Russian and Latin. He worked as a language teacher and in 1876 married Hortense Tardent, a distant relative, at the Swiss wine-growing colony in

Chabag Shabo ( uk, Шабо, ro, Şaba, population 7,100) is a selo of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, situated at the Dniester Liman, some 7 km downstream of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. It hosts the administration of Shabo rural hromada, one of the hrom ...

(present-day Ukraine).

Move to Australia

Due to political instability and poor health, Tardent and his family immigrated to Australia in 1887. He established a farm and winery at Roma, Queensland, which he ran as a

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. He became a naturalised

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

in 1890. Following an economic downturn, in 1897 Tardent took up an appointment as manager of the Westbrook State Farm, an experimental farm near Toowoomba. He was transferred to the Biggenden State Farm in 1898, but resigned in 1901 when the state government objected to his political activities.

Political activities and journalism career

Tardent was an early member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He stood for the party at the 1902 state election in the seat of Burnett. From 1904 to 1908 he was the publisher of the ''Toowoomba Democrat and Downs Agriculturist'', while he ran an insurance business in Toowoomba. He moved to Atherton and became managing editor of the ''Tableland Examiner'' from 1909 to 1910. He was most prominent as the agricultural editor of the ALP-affiliated '' Daily Standard'' from 1913 until his death in 1929.

Other activities

Tardent published a number of books across varying subjects, including biographies of

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Richard John Randall Richard John Randall (1869—1906) was an Australian artist based in Brisbane, Queensland. His art studio, the Richard Randall Art Studio, was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. Early life Richard John Randall was born in Brisbane in ...

, and Ellis Rowan. He was a founding member of the Brisbane branch of the Alliance française. In March 1929, the French government awarded him the rank of Officier d'Académie in the Ordre des Palmes académiques. Tardent was a major influence on his grandson

P. R. Stephensen Percy Reginald Stephensen (20 November 1901 – 28 May 1965) was an Australian writer, publisher and political activist, first aligned with communism and later shifting support towards far-right politics. He was the co-founder of the fascist Aus ...

, who achieved some literary fame but was better known for his involvement with left-wing and right-wing extremist groups.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tardent, Henry 1929 deaths Swiss emigrants to Australia Swiss expatriates in Ukraine Odesa University alumni Australian agriculturalists Australian biographers Australian newspaper publishers (people) Agricultural writers Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Australian newspaper editors Naturalised citizens of Australia People from Aigle District 1853 births