John Edward Pick (16 November 1869 – 21 March 1951) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He represented the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

multi-member An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...

seat of

Burra Burra Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single company ...

from 1915 to 1918. He was sometimes referred to as "the grand old man of the north-west". Pick was born near

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

. In 1892, his father took up Braemar Station, sixty miles north-east of Burra, and Pick took over ownership of the property in 1902. In 1909, he sold Braemar and purchased Arcoona Station, and in 1920 sold Arcoona and purchased Coondambo Station, which he owned until his death. He was a vice-president of the Stockowners' Association of South Australia from 1925 to 1930, and was patron of the Port Augusta Racing Club from 1914 until his death. Pick was elected to the House of Assembly at the 1915 state election for the conservative Liberal Union, succeeding the retired Robert Homburg, junior. In February 1918, less than two months before the 1918 election, Pick, along with the two other Liberal members for Burra Burra, William Miller and

Laurence O'Loughlin Laurence O'Loughlin (21 February 1854 – 25 January 1927) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seats of Frome from 1890 to 1902 and Burra Burra from 1902 to 1918. He represented the Liberal Union ...

, defected to the rival

Farmers and Settlers Association The Farmers' and Settlers' Association of New South Wales was an umbrella organisation of farmers' and selectors' associations in New South Wales, founded in 1893. History The Association was formed in 1893 as the outcome of a conference held in C ...

. The three members cited a disputed preselection plebiscite which they argued had been designed to defeat O'Loughlin, and neglect of rural regions by the Liberal Union as reasons for their defection. All three were defeated at the election, losing to two Labor candidates and a Liberal. In 1926, he was selected as one of five members of a Royal Commission into the pastoral industry in South Australia. The commission reported in 1927, making recommendations on the classification of pastoral land, the length of leases for pastoral land, processes for resumption or surrender of leases, the settlement of land that remained unoccupied, and a range of other issues related to the industry. The report formed the basis of subsequent legislative reforms, and upon his death the ''Transcontinental'' described Pick's contribution as "outstanding work", with his "wide experience and practical knowledge...a great advantage". Pick died suddenly at Coondambo Station in 1951, at the age of 81. His funeral was held in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. The Port Augusta Town Council and Port Augusta Racing Club both held minutes' silence to acknowledge his death.

References

1869 births 1951 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly People from Mount Gambier, South Australia {{Australia-politician-stub