Sir John Alexander Cockburn (23 August 185026 November 1929) was

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 27 June 1889 to 18 August 1890.

Early life

Cockburn was born in Corsbie,

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

, Scotland, in 1850 to Thomas Cockburn, farmer, and his wife Isabella, née Wright. His father died in France in 1855, and his mother migrated to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, 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 o ...

in 1867 with three of the four children. Cockburn remained in the UK and was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

, and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, he obtained the degree of M.D. London, with first class honours and gold medal. In 1875, he married Sarah Holdway (the daughter of Forbes Scott Brown), and they had one son and one daughter. In 1879, he emigrated to South Australia and set up practice at Jamestown in the

mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern ...

Political career

In 1878, Cockburn was elected as the first mayor of the

Corporate Town of Jamestown The Corporate Town of Jamestown was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Jamestown. It was proclaimed on 25 July 1878, severing the seven-year old settlement of Jamestown from the surrounding District Council of Belal ...

. In that role he lobbied the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

to construct a railway line to the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

border to tap the newly developed silver mining fields of the

Barrier Ranges The Barrier Ranges or sometimes the Barrier Range and historically the Stanley's Barrier Range, is a mountain range that comprises a series of hills and higher grounds in the far western region of New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the city o ...

. Between 1884 and 1888, during Cockburn's parliamentary career, the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Aust ...

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

through Jamestown to Petersburg was extended to the border to meet the tramway built by the

Silverton Tramway Company Silverton may refer to: Places Australia * Silverton, New South Wales **Silverton Wind Farm *Silverton, South Australia Canada * Silverton, British Columbia South Africa * Silverton, Pretoria United Kingdom * Silverton, Devon, ...

, which linked the growing mines of

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...

to the South Australian coast at

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

, where a smelter was built in 1889, effectively capturing the economic benefits of the Broken Hill mining field for South Australia. The town surveyed at the colonial border in 1886 was named Cockburn in his honour. Cockburn stood for Burra 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 crea ...

in 1884, serving as Minister of Education from 1885 to 1887 (under premier John Downer) before losing that seat and returning as member for Mount Barker, elected in April 1887 and holding that seat for 11 years. In 1884 Cockburn was able to pass progressive legislation including succession duties and land tax, and in 1886 was involved in introducing payment for members of the South Australian parliament. On 27 June 1889, Cockburn became the first doctor to become premier, a role he held for fourteen months before he lost a no-confidence motion and handing back to Thomas Playford. He was Minister for Education again and Minister for Agriculture in the Kingston ministry from 1893 until April 1898.

He was active in the planning of

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, including representing South Australia at the Australasian Federal Conference of 1890, the National Australasian Convention of 1891, and, most importantly, the Australasian Federal Convention of 1897-8. At the Convention he had the equal best attendance record of the fifty or so delegates, but almost as often as not was on the losing side in its votes, reflecting in part his independence of faction.

Women's Suffrage

Cockburn supported the

Women's Suffrage League The Women's Suffrage League, founded in 1888, spearheaded the campaign for women's right to vote in South Australia. In 1894 South Australia became the first Australian colony and the fourth place in the world to grant women's suffrage. At the s ...

throughout their campaign and frequently spoke at its meetings, and that of women's suffrage organisations in the United Kingdom. He chaired the league's final meeting as well as its celebration event when suffrage was granted. Cockburn and Frederick Holder convinced the reluctant Premier

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

that by giving the vote to women they would be so grateful that they would vote for him. He continued to play a part in women's suffrage upon his return to London and, along with his wife, was active in the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

movement in England.

Later life

After resigning from parliament, he went to England to serve as Agent-General for South Australia. He resigned in 1901 when the position was downgraded (due to federation), but remained in London and unofficially represented South Australia and Australia in many things. He had a long career in

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

that began with his initiation in 1876. He would go on to help establish the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

of South Australia and to serve in several high offices within it. After his return to England, he founded a new lodge in London and served as president of the International Masonic Club. As a Masonic

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...

he was attracted to esoteric and philosophical subjects, and published several dozen articles exploring such themes in various Masonic periodicals. He was created 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the

1900 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1900 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in ''The Times'' on 1 January 1900, and the various honours were gazetted in ''The London ...

list on 1 January 1900, and received the order from

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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

during an investiture at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

on 1 March 1900. He was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England (KGStJ) in August 1901. He died in London in 1929 without ever returning to Australia. His wife, son and daughter survived him.

Works

References

External links

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Electric Scotland
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, John Alexander 1850 births 1929 deaths Premiers of South Australia Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian federationists People educated at Highgate School Alumni of King's College London Australian eugenicists Scottish eugenicists Scottish emigrants to Australia Mayors of places in South Australia

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia Australian suffragists Australian Freemasons Male feminists Members of the South Australian House of Assembly