Sir Robert Dalrymple Ross (1827–1887) was an army officer, politician and businessman. He was born at St Vincent in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, son of John Pemberton Ross, Speaker of the House of Assembly at St Vincent, and his wife, the only daughter of Dr Alexander Anderson. His father was a slave-owner and received compensation for the emancipation of slaves on

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...

. He was educated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, joined the British Army in 1855, and commissioned in 1856. Ross was appointed 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 1862 as head of the Commissariat Department and was briefly aide-de-camp to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Daly. On 10 August 1865 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 ...

he married Mary Anstice (d.1867), daughter of John Baker, and bought ''Highercombe'' at

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 ...

. In 1869 he went to England, and in 1870 to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, but a little later he resigned his commission to return to Australia. In 1875 after being defeated for

, Ross entered the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

for

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

and from June 1876 to October 1877 was

Treasurer of South Australia The Treasurer of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for the financial management of that state's budget sector. The Urban Renewal Authority, trading as Renewal SA, lies within the T ...

in the Colton ministry. In 1881-87 he was

Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly The Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the South Australian House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the President of the South Australian ...

. He represented Gumeracha in 1884-87 and was knighted in 1886. ;Summary of activities and appointments: *Actively supported scheme to lay a cable from England to Australia. *Actively supported scheme to build a transcontinental railway from Adelaide to Darwin. *In 1879 told a commission on liquor laws that wine would become a most important industry of the colony. *Carried out experiments at ''Highercombe'' in growing olives and vines, in cider making and in fruit drying. *President of the

Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia The Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia was founded in November 1839 as the South Australian Agricultural Society with the aim of promoting primary industries in the Colony. The Society and its functions were patterned ...

; he gave papers on agriculture, scrub land cultivation and wine and brandy. *Governor of the Collegiate School of St Peter, Adelaide. *Member of the Council 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 ...

. *Chairman of the

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

. *Member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1880 to 1885. *Promoter and guarantor of the 1887

Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition The Adelaide International Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne on 20 June 1837, held in Adelaide, South Australia in 1887. It was also a celebration of the 50th annivers ...

. Ross died in hospital at

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

on and was buried, after a state funeral, in St George's cemetery, Woodforde.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Robert Dalrymple 1827 births 1887 deaths Royal Army Service Corps officers British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Speakers of the South Australian House of Assembly Treasurers of South Australia Settlers of South Australia People from Saint Vincent (Antilles) 19th-century Australian politicians