Sir John Cowan (6 December 1866 – 8 March 1953) 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 politician who served as 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 ...

from 1910 to 1944.

Early life

Cowan who was born at

Port Gawler, South Australia Port Gawler is a locality and former port on Gulf St Vincent on the central Adelaide Plains in South Australia. Port Gawler is located north west of Adelaide in the Adelaide Plains Council local government area at the mouth of the Gawler Rive ...

, was the third son of Thomas Cowan, a farmer, and his wife Mary Jane, née Armstrong. He was educated at Whinham College in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

. After completion of his schooling, he managed a property owned by his father at

Milang, South Australia Milang ( ) is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Alexandrina about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about nor ...

. In 1881, Cowan purchased land near

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city had an urban population of a ...

which he would develop and retain until his death. In 1892, Cowan married Elizabeth Jones with whom he had two sons and three daughters.''South Australian Births – Index of Registrations 1842-1906'', South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. page 606.

Political career

Cowan served as a councillor on the

District Council of Mobilong The District Council of Mobilong was a local government area in South Australia from 1884 to 1977. It was proclaimed on 26 June 1884, comprising the cadastral Hundred of Mobilong. The first meeting was held on 12 July 1884 in the Murray Brid ...

from 1892 to 1912 including the role of chairman from 1896 to 1912. He was elected to the Legislative Council district of the Southern District on 2 April 1910 and held this seat until his retirement on 29 February 1944. Cowan served as the Minister of Agriculture, the Assistant Minister of Repatriation and the Minister of Town Planning in the government led by

Henry Barwell Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG (26 February 187730 September 1959) was the 28th premier of South Australia. Early life Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, graduating in law. A ...

and as the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Immigration, the Minister of Repatriation, and the Minister of Irrigation in the government led by

Richard Layton Butler Sir Richard Layton Butler KCMG (31 March 1885 – 21 January 1966) was the 31st Premier of South Australia, serving two disjunct terms in office: from 1927 to 1930, and again from 1933 to 1938. Early life Born on a farm near Gawler, South Austr ...

. He also served as the

Government Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

in the Legislative Council for a period of 20 years and as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works from 12 July 1934 to 31 May 1944.

Later life and death

He rode a

hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

around his property Glen Lossie near Murray Bridge, up until his death on and was survived by his wife Elizabeth and their children.

Honours

His contribution to public life was recognised with the conferral of the prefix 'Honourable' on 7 August 1930 and a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

on 1 January 1944.

Early life

Political career

Later life and death

Honours

See also

References

Further reading