Robert Cottrell (15 September 1815 – 3 November 1880) was a coachbuilder and politician in the colony of South Australia. His first sojourn in Australia was in

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England Hi ...

and his last near

Maitland, South Australia Maitland () is a town in South Australia. By road, it is 168 km west of Adelaide by, 164 km south of Port Pirie and 46 km north of Minlaton known as the "heart of Yorke Peninsula" due to being near the centre of the region. At ...

History

Cottrell emigrated to New South Wales, arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on the ship ''Orient'' in February 1839. He ran a coachbuilding business in

from 1843 to 1845. Cottrell married Abina Ledsam; their two elder sons were born in Maitland, where various members of the Ledsam family had settled from the early 1830s including

poundkeeper A poundmaster, or poundkeeper, was a local government official responsible for the feeding and care of stray livestock such as domestic pigs, cattle, horses, sheep, and geese. This was common in colonial America and continued into the 19th century ...

John Ledsam and auctioneer Jeremiah Ledsam, with whom he was closely associated. Cottrell, his wife and four children moved to Adelaide by the brig ''Phantom'', accompanied by brother-in-law John Ledsam (1785–1856), in June 1847. In 1848 he opened a coachbuilding business in

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes ...

, which prospered, enabling him to move several times, finally to

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. On the other side of King William Street, it continues as Currie S ...

. He was member for East Adelaide 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 ...

April 1868 – February 1875, and was an advocate of

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

. In 1875, he stood again for East Adelaide, but was defeated by William Kay. He purchased a farm "Brook Cottage", Woodforde, near

Magill ''Magill'' was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. ''Magill'' specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymous ' ...

around 1865, where they lived, and later moved to a much larger property at Urania, some from Maitland, South Australia. He had been an

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As t ...

for some time, and died of

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

G. T. Cottrell

His eldest son George Thomas Cottrell joined the second ("relief") party of

B. T. Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in ...

's surveying expedition to Adam Bay in the Northern Territory as a labourer, leaving Port Adelaide on 29 October 1864. He brought with him six rabbits, a gift of land agent Samuel Pearce, later his father-in-law, but there is no record of their being released, and they certainly failed to "be fruitful and multiply". Although his contract would not expire until October 1865, he was one of those who on 6 May 1865 left Escape Cliffs on the ship ''Bengal'' for Surabaya, and with J. R. (T. R. ?) Atkinson travelled on to Singapore, while the rest transshipped via ''Douglas'' to Melbourne, and thence to Adelaide. :In the prosecution of W. P. Auld for having on 8 September 1864 shot dead a defenceless Aborigine, the Government's case relied on testimony from two witnesses, and had to be dropped after one witness (F. J. Packard) had drowned, and the other had left the country. It is possible the second witness was Atkinson, who appears never to have returned to Australia. He died of smallpox in India sometime around June 1868 While in Singapore he found a shipmaster's wallet, and was able to return it to its owner, who treated him to a passage to Hong Kong. There he was introduced to the Governor, Sir

Richard Graves MacDonnell Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell (; 3 September 1814 – 5 February 1881) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, judge and colonial governor. His posts as governor included Governor of the British Settlements in West Africa, Governor of Saint Vincent, Gove ...

, who found an appointment for him with the Customs Department in Canton. Two years later he returned to Adelaide, married, and had a successful career as an accountant.

Family

Robert Cottrell married Abina Ledsam (c.1813 – 30 May 1890) around 1838. Among their children were: *George Thomas Cottrell (c. 1839 – 14 December 1917) was student at

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Unive ...

, married Sarah Pearce (c. 1842 – 28 September 1930) on 21 August 1869 *Thomas Ledsam Cottrell (1841–), also AEI student, married Martha Rebecca Galway on 1 January 1861. :*Abina Ledsam Cottrell (1863-1928) married David Halliday Irving *Robert Cottrell ( – ) married Jane Lowe on 25 December 1865 :*George Edwin Cottrell (1868– ) :*Isabella Roberta Cottrell (1870– ) married George Lionel Throssell in 1896 :*Annie Abina Cottrell (1871–1871) :*Fanny Ethel Cottrell (1873– ) *Walter Cottrell (c. September 1847 – 2 November 1848) *Walter Cottrell (c. 26 February 1849 – 13 May 1850) *Frederick William Cottrell (1851– ) lived at

; had falling out with brother Robert. He was subsequently admitted to the Lunatic Asylum declared bankrupt, and the sole executor of his mother's Will. Both G. T. Cottrell and T. L. Cottrell were born in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottrell, Robert Coachbuilders of Australia Australian farmers Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 1815 births 1880 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians