Sir Richard Davies Hanson (6 December 1805 – 4 March 1876), was the fourth

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

, from 30 September 1857 until 8 May 1860, and was a

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

from 20 November 1861 until 4 March 1876 on the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of South Australia.

Life

Hanson was born in London, the second son of Benjamin Hanson, a fruit merchant and importer, and was educated at a private school in Melbourn,

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. Admitted a solicitor in 1828, he practised briefly in London, becoming a disciple of

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in Britis ...

in connection with his colonization schemes. Hanson joined '' The Globe'' as a political critic early in 1837. In 1838 he went with

Lord Durham Earl of Durham is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1833 for the Whig politician and colonial official John Lambton, 1st Baron Durham. Known as "Radical Jack", he played a leading role in the passing of the Gre ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as assistant commissioner of inquiry into crown lands and immigration. Hanson worked with

Dominick Daly Sir Dominick Daly (11 August 1798 – 19 February 1868) was the Governor of Prince Edward Island from 11 July 1854 to 25 May 1859 and later Governor of South Australia from 4 March 1862 until his death on 19 February 1868. He was born in ...

in Canada. In 1840, on the death of Lord Durham, Hanson settled in

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, New Zealand. He there acted as crown prosecutor, but in 1846 moved to South Australia. On his arrival in the colony of South Australia in 1846, Hanson immediately set up a legal practice. He served as Advocate-General and Attorney-General for the colony before election to the seat of City of Adelaide in 1857. In 1851 Hanson was appointed advocate-general of the colony, initially as a temporary replacement for the ailing

William Smillie William Smillie (c. 1810 – 11 Dec 1852) was an appointed member of the first Legislative Council of South Australia, serving from March 1840 to February 1851. History Smillie was a son of Matthew Smillie (c. 1781 – 12 March 1847), a solicito ...

, made permanent when Smillie died. He took an active share in the passing of many important measures, such as the first Education Act, the District Councils Act of 1852, and the Act of 1856 which granted constitutional government to the colony. In 1856 he was attorney-general in the first ministry under Boyle Travers Finniss; becoming premier himself in 1857. Among the acts passed were the first patents act, an insolvency act, a partial consolidation of the criminal law, and the Torrens real property act, though he was at first opposed to this measure. He also passed an act legalizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister, the first of its kind in the Empire, but the royal assent was refused on this occasion. After leaving parliament, Hanson replaced Sir Charles Cooper as Chief Justice of the

in 1861. He was knighted in 1869 by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

when he visited England, and was acting

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

for 1872–73. In his spare time Hanson gave much time to theological studies. His publications include ''Law in Nature and Other Papers'' (1865), ''The Jesus of History'' (1869), ''Letters to and from Rome'' (1869), ''The Apostle Paul'', and the ''Preaching of Christianity in the Primitive Church (1875)''. He was elected the first Chancellor 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 ...

; the first vice-chancellor was Augustus Short. He died in Australia on 4 March 1876.

Personal life

Freemasonry was an integral part of Hanson's personal life. He was elected as a member and initiated into the Craft on 27 November 1834 in London when The Lodge of Friendship, a Lodge especially founded to become South Australia's first Lodge, held its very first meeting. Later he was to rise in position within the Lodge, which still exists to the present day, and ultimately served as its Master. His summer residence, Woodhouse, near

Piccadilly, South Australia Piccadilly is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Australia. At the , Piccadilly had a population of 509. The Piccadilly Valley was for many decades a market gardening centre which produced food for the Adelaide and overseas ...

, is today owned by the South Australian Scout Association, and used for Scout leader training and private functions and accommodation; the extensive grounds are used for camping and outdoor adventuring. Richard's brother William Hanson (1810–1875) was an architect and engineer who played a decisive role in the early history of South Australia's railways and waterworks.

Family

Hanson married the widow Ann "Annie" Scanlon (perhaps Scanton), née Hopgood (died 1895) at his home,

Sturt Street, Adelaide Sturt Street is a street in the south-western sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs east-west between West Terrace to King William Street, passing through Whitmore Square. After crossing King William Street, it continues ...

, on 29 March 1851. Their eldest daughter Sarah Elizabeth "Lisa" Hanson (23 February 1853 – c. 15 January 1930) married barrister Eustace Beardoe Grundy QC at St Johns Church, Adelaide, on 6 July 1876.

Legacy

The following places in South Australia were named after him: *Hanson Street 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 ...

named in 1837 and which was later subsumed by the expanded

Pulteney Street Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...

in 1967. *The cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Hanson 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

created in 1860. *The cadastral unit of the

County of Hanson __NOTOC__ County of Hanson is a Cadastral divisions of South Australia, cadastral unit located in the Australian state of South Australia that covers land in the Flinders Ranges immediately east of the town of Hawker, South Australia, Hawker. ...

created in 1877. *The town of

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ba ...

which was named in 1940 *The seat of

in 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 ...

which was created in 1970 and renamed to

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

in 2002.

Notes

References

*
Hanson, Sir Richard Davies (1805 - 1876)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 336–340. Retrieved 20 January 2009 * *

External links

South Australian Parliament - Hanson
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Richard 1805 births 1876 deaths Attorneys-General of South Australia Premiers of South Australia Chief Justices of South Australia Administrators of South Australia English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Knights Bachelor Chancellors of the University of Adelaide Colony of South Australia judges 19th-century Australian politicians Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia 19th-century Australian judges Members of the South Australian House of Assembly