John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (30 March 1894 – 15 March 1950) was a pastoralist in South Australia, remembered as a major benefactor of the State Library of South Australia and commemorated by the " Mortlock Wing" of the library.

History

Mortlock was born at

Mintaro, South Australia Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about north of Adelaide, South Australia. The town lies at the south-eastern corner of the Hundred of Clare, within the Clare Valley wine region. Established ...

, the second son of pastoralist

William Tennant Mortlock William Tennant Mortlock (1858 – 17 August 1913) was a South Australian grazier and politician. Mortlock was born near Port Lincoln, the son of William Ranson Mortlock. He was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide and Jesus College, Camb ...

(1858 – 17 August 1913) and his wife Rosina Forsyth "Rosye" Mortlock, née Tennant (1865 – 12 August 1939). He was educated at F. I. Caterer's Glenelg Grammar School then followed his father as a student at St. Peter's College and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. In 1913, on receiving news of his father's death, he left without graduating and took charge of the family properties, which included Martindale Estate and

Martindale Hall Martindale Hall is a Georgian style mansion near Mintaro, South Australia which appeared in the film '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''. Construction Martindale Hall was built for a wealthy bachelor pastoralist, Edmund Bowman Jr (1855–1921). T ...

, as well as cattle and sheep stations and other properties in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, South Australia and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He was a successful stud

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

sheep breeder. He was chairman of Yudnapinna Pastoral Company Pty. Ltd. and Yalluna Pty. Ltd., pastoral management companies.

Last years

On 7 December 1948 when Mortlock was mortally ill, suffering from cancer, he married Dorothy Elizabeth Beech (5 October 1906 – 10 August 1979). She had been secretary to Ernest E. E. Scarfe (1889–1947), Mortlock's finance manager. He appointed her executor of his estate. He died at a private hospital in Adelaide. His remains were buried in the

North Road Cemetery North Road Cemetery is located in the Adelaide suburb of Nailsworth, approximately 5 km north of the central business district. It is 7.3 hectares (18 acres) in size and there have been over 26,000 burials since its foundation in 1853. Th ...

. His South Australian estate alone was sworn for probate at £1,148,124. His widow Dorothy Mortlock became involved with the State Library of South Australia as a member of the management committee and of the "Friends of the SLSA" and gave generously to a number of charities.

Other interests

Tennant was a member of the

Adelaide Club The Adelaide Club is an exclusive gentlemen's club situated on North Terrace in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. Founded in 1863, the club comprises members of the Adelaide Establishment. South Australian Club (1838–1843) An ea ...

. He raced greyhounds and owned racehorses. He was a keen yachtsman, owner of motor yacht ''Martindale''. He was an amateur film-maker. He had a home in Avenue road,

Millswood Millswood is an inner-southern mainly residential suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It was named after Scotsman Samuel Mills, who arrived in the colony in 1839. Description The suburb is dissected by Goodwood Road, which travels north ...

, where he cultivated orchids. He was a regular worshipper at the St. Peter's Anglican Church, Mintaro. He was an enthusiast for fine wine, to his detriment.

Benefaction

In 1926 Mortlock donated £2,000 to the

Waite Agricultural Research Institute The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, now part of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. In 1936 he and his mother gave a further £25,000 to establish the Ranson Mortlock Memorial Research Trust for research into soil conservation and pasture regeneration. In his will he left over £73,000 to cultural organizations and charities. The balance of his estate was divided between the State Library and the Waite Institute. In 1986 the Mortlock Library of South Australiana was established as part of the State Library of South Australia.Valmai A. Hankel, 'Mortlock, John Andrew Tennant (1894–1950)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mortlock-john-andrew-tennant-11182/text19927, published first in hardcopy 2000, accessed online 27 May 2017. The Mortlock Wing of the Library was named in recognition of his munificence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortlock, John 1894 births 1950 deaths Australian racehorse owners and breeders Australian pastoralists Australian sheep breeders 20th-century Australian philanthropists