Sir John Lancelot Stirling, (5 November 1849 – 24 May 1932), generally known as Sir Lancelot Stirling, was an Australian politician and grazier. He was a member of 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 Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from 1881 to 1887, representing Mount Barker, and 1888 to 1890, representing

Gumeracha Gumeracha ( ) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha ...

. He was then 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 1891 to 1932, representing the Southern District. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1901 to 1932 and was Chief Secretary in the seven-day Solomon Ministry of 1899.

Early life

Stirling was born at

Strathalbyn, South Australia Strathalbyn is a town in South Australia, in the Alexandrina Council. As of 2016, the town had a population of approximately 6,500. Location Strathalbyn is 60 km southeast of Adelaide on the banks of the River Angas, at the southeastern edg ...

, the son of Edward Stirling (1804–1873) and his wife Harriett, ''née'' Taylor and brother of Sir

Edward Charles Stirling Sir Edward Charles Stirling (8 September 1848 – 20 March 1919) was an Australian anthropologist and the first professor of physiology at the University of Adelaide. Early life Stirling was born at "The Lodge" Strathalbyn, South Australia, t ...

. His father was the illegitimate child of a Scottish planter in Jamaica and an unknown woman of colour. Stirling was educated at

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated B.A. and LL.B Stirling was a good athlete and, representing

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, won the 120 yards hurdles. Stirling also won the amateur championship of England in this event in 1870 and again in 1872, his time in the latter year being 16.8 seconds, considered a good performance at that time.

Career

Stirling read for the bar and was admitted at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1872, but never practised. Stirling returned to

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 ...

soon afterwards, became a pastoralist, and bred prize

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and

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 Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

. He entered the

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

in 1881 for Mount Barker, which he held until April 1887, and afterwards represented

until 1890, when he became a member of the then-

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, representing the Southern District. In December 1899 Stirling was chief secretary in the conservative

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

government but this ministry was defeated as soon as the house met. In 1901 Stirling was elected

President of the South Australian Legislative Council The president of the South Australian Legislative Council is the presiding officer of the South Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the speaker of the South Australia ...

, and would serve in the position for a record 31 years. Stirling was made 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 14 August 1902, after the honour had been announced in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in 1909 and Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in 1918. He continued his interest in sport all his life, pioneering

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

in South Australia and captaining the team which twice beat Victoria. For a time Stirling was master of the Adelaide Hounds and was a well-known figure at racing meetings. He was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1891 to 1893; he was president of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

, the Pastoralists' Association, the St Peter's Old Collegians Association, the South Australian Zoological and Acclimatization Society, and was a member of the

Adelaide University 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 ...

council. He was a member of the

Caledonian Society of South Australia The Royal Caledonian Society of South Australia was founded in Adelaide in 1881 as the South Australian Caledonian Society to promote Scottish culture and traditions in South Australia. History Foundation members included A. W. Dobbie and Patric ...

, and its Chief 1885–1886. Stirling also possessed a good business sense and was a director of well-known companies. In politics he was respected as a man of individuality but not regarded as a first-rate speaker. Stirling found his ideal position as president of the council, admirably carrying out his duties; as the years passed becoming a kind of elder brother to the newer members.

Family

On 2 December 1882, Stirling married Florence Marion, daughter of Sir William Milne and was survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters. His elder daughter Madge Mary Stirling (1887–1940) married Knox Lister Colley (1885 – 7 December 1934) on 28 January 1914. Knox was a grandson of R. B. Colley, first mayor of Glenelg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, John Lancelot 1849 births 1932 deaths Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the South Australian Legislative Council People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Liberal and Country League politicians People from Strathalbyn, South Australia Burials at North Road Cemetery Australian people of Jamaican descent Australian people of Scottish descent