Josiah Howell Bagster (19 February 1847 – 17 October 1893) was a land agent and politician in the British colony of

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 ...

. He was generally referred to by his full name or as Josiah H. Bagster or J. H. Bagster, perhaps to differentiate him from his father, Josiah Shirley Bagster.

History

Bagster was born in

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...

, Herefordshire and baptised Joseph Howell Bagster in Ledbury parish church on 1 March 1847, the son of stationer Josiah Shirley Bagster (c. 1811 – 6 March 1882) and his wife Elizabeth née Howell, who emigrated to South Australia on the ''Caroline'', arriving in September 1849. His father was born on 10 July 1811 and baptised on 08 January 1812, at Partridge Lane Independent Church,

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

, Kent, England. He married Elizabeth Howell at St James Church, Westminster, London in the second quarter of 1841, but had arrived in Ledbury before the 1841 census which was conducted on 6 June 1841. At some stage he took his father's name Josiah, rather than the more usual Joseph, which he was baptised. He attended Webster's Commercial School in Grenfell Street, Adelaide, and was apprenticed to the Government Printing Office. He abandoned the printing trade for land dealing. He was on the boards of several public companies and the Zoological Society and acted as Director of the Zoological Gardens during the absence of

R. E. Minchin Richard Ernest Minchin (5 March 1831 – 4 January 1893), generally known as R. E. Minchin, was a zoo administrator and artist in South Australia. History Minchin was the eighth son of Mary Anne (Wright) and the (Anglican) Rev. William Minchin, ...

. He also sat on the Adelaide Licensing Bench and the Central Road Board. He was mayor of

Unley Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullar ...

from 1877 to 1878. He was member for Yatala 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 ...

from September 1881 to April 1890. One commentator described him as able and amiable, but devoid of ideas and lacking forcefulness in speech. He made and lost a fortune and was financially saved by a lucky draw in a Melbourne Cup sweep. He died after an operation for an ulcerated lung.

Family

J. H. Bagster married Eleanor Winzor (13 December 1849 – 7 February 1884) on 31 December 1872. Their children included: *Winifred Bagster (19 November 1873 – ) *son Shirley Winzor Bagster (29 April 1875 – 26 August 1932) married Hannah Mabel Slatter ( – ) on 7 July 1909 *Geraldine Bagster (12 January 1878 – 16 January 1883) He married again, to Mary Ann Harvey (1 November 1847 – 28 May 1931) on 22 April 1885 and lived at Mary Street, Unley. Mary Ann was a daughter of fellow MHA

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

. *Lancelot Salisbury Bagster (9 August 1886 – 14 March 1940) *Mabel Gwendoline Bagster (27 March 1888 – )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagster, Josiah Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian real estate agents 1847 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople