John Pickering (ca.1815 – 15 October 1891) was a politician in the early days of the colony of South Australia.

History

Pickering was born in Ashborne,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England and trained as a carpenter in Leamington after working for some time at a coalyard. He left England for Australia on the ''Asia'', arriving in July 1839. He found ready employment and by 1849 and owned two lots on the Port Road, Hindmarsh and a timber merchant's business. In 1851 he joined the gold rush to Victoria, and within a few years returned to Hindmarsh sufficiently wealthy to give up active business life.

Politics

He served on the Hindmarsh District Council from 1857 to 1866 and had a year each as Chairman and Treasurer. He was, with H. Quarterly, Francis Hunwick, Luther Scammell and John Gibson behind the formation of the Hindmarsh Institute. He entered Parliament in March, 1865, representing West Torrens 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 ...

, with H. B. T. Strangways as his colleague. He lost his seat at the 1868 election but succeeded at the February 1870 by-election called to replace George Bean, was defeated at the 1870 election, but didn't have long to wait before the 1871 election, when he was again successful, and held the seat until 1878, when he was defeated by a handful of votes. In

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

he was successful in winning one of the six vacant seats in the Legislative Council and retired in 1888. He was appointed Justice of the Peace.

Church

Pickering was a staunch Congregationalist, and helped build the "Mud Chapel" on the opposite side of Orsmond (then Roberts) Street from the present chapel, alongside Crawford's Hindmarsh Brewery.Parsons, Ronald ''Hindmarsh Town'', Corporation of the Town of Hindmarsh, 1974. He was a teetotaller, a prominent worker for the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

and a member of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

Family

Pickering was married He lived his whole life in Hindmarsh and died at his son's residence in Bacon Street, Hindmarsh after an illness lasting several weeks. They had one son: *John Pickering Jun. (ca.1849 – 19 February 1921) was a senior officer with the

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and a prominent cricketer with the Hindmarsh, then Norwood Clubs, and helped found the

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...

, and was its first Secretary, from 1871 to 1873.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, John Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian temperance activists 1815 births 1891 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians