Captain John Hart CMG (25 February 1809 – 28 January 1873) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n politician and a

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 i ...

Early life

Hart was born in England, son of journalist/newspaper publisher John Harriott Hart and Mary Hart ''née'' Glanville. probably at 23 Warwick Lane off Newgate Street, London, and baptised at Christ Church Greyfriars, London. At 12 years of age he first went to sea, visiting

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(now

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia) in September 1828 in the ''Magnet''. In 1832 Hart was in command of the schooner ''Elizabeth'', a sealer operating from Tasmania and visiting

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

and

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

. In 1833 he took

Edward Henty Edward Henty (28 March 1810 – 14 August 1878), was a pioneer British colonist and is regarded as the first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district (later known as the colony of Victoria), Australia. Early life and family background ...

to and from

Portland Bay Portland Bay ( Dhauwurdwurrung: ''Kardermudelar / Pathowwererer'') is a small bay off the coast of Victoria, Australia. It is about west of Melbourne. The city of Portland is located on the bay. The western end of the bay is marked by the hea ...

. In 1836 he was sent to London to purchase another vessel, and returning in the ''Isabella'' took the first livestock from Tasmania to South Australia in 1837. On the return voyage the ''Isabella'' was wrecked off Cape Nelson and Hart lost everything he had. Early January 1838 he was "on the River Murray near Mount Hope" (perhaps the Lachlan near Hillston) and foresaw the great thoroughfare it would become in the second half of that century. He went to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and John B. Hack sent him to Sydney to buy a vessel in which he brought stock to Portland Bay. Some of this stock he successfully brought overland to South Australia. Hack also gave Hart two acres (0.8 ha) of land in

. In 1839 he managed a whaling station at

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Bau ...

. In January 1843 Hart sailed to England in command of the South Australian Company's ageing barque ''Sarah and Elizabeth'', delivering it to London for sale. Aboard as a passenger was the explorer John Hill, from whom Hart had just purchased Section 2112 at Port Adelaide, in partnership with Jacob Hagen. In December 1843 Hart returned to Adelaide in command of the barque ''Augustus'' of which he was part owner with Jacob Hagen and Hagen's brother. Among the passengers was the artist

George French Angas George French Angas (25 April 1822 – 4 October 1886), also known as G.F.A., was an English explorer, naturalist, painter and poet who emigrated to Australia. His paintings are held in a number of important Australian public art collections. ...

. After another voyage to England he gave up the sea in 1846, and settled near

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

, where he joined with H. Kent Hughes as merchants Hughes and Hart then, as Hart & Company, established large and successful flour mills. His flour mill at the Port was regarded as one of the best, and "Hart's Flour" commanded the highest prices in Australia. John Hart & Co. merged with the Adelaide Milling Company in 1882. He was a member of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1858 to 1859. He became interested in copper mining, and some imputations having been made of underhand dealings in connection with leases, challenged inquiry. A select committee completely exonerated Hart stating that his conduct in every particular had been that of a strictly honourable and upright man.

Political career

Hart took an interest in public affairs, in 1851 was elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. Hart resigned in 1853 to visit England and was re-elected the next year, serving until the Council expired in 1857. In 1857 Hart became a member for

in the first

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 as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

. He was Treasurer of South Australia in the

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

ministry which lasted only a few days in August 1857, and held the same position in the Hanson cabinet from 30 September 1857 to 12 June 1858 when he resigned. Hart was chief secretary in the short-lived first Dutton ministry in July 1863, and was Treasurer in the first and second Ayers ministries, and the first Blyth ministry from July 1863 to March 1865. Hart became premier and chief secretary from 23 October 1865 to 28 March 1866 at which date he also resigned from parliament. Hart was member for

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

from May 1868 to April 1870. including a second short stint as premier from 24 September 1868 to 13 October 1868. At the 1870 election, Hart changed seats to represent The Burra, the seat he retained until his death. He was premier and Treasurer again from 30 May 1870 to 10 November 1871. One newspaper obituary gave the opinion that Hart had been unfairly criticised in several of his decisions (and had been subsequently vindicated) and should have been given credit for the Overland Telegraph Line rather than Sir

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial was in the name Ayers Rock, now better-known as Uluru, wh ...

Death

John Hart died suddenly on 28 January 1873, while chairing the third annual general meeting of the Mercantile Marine Insurance Company at the Adelaide Town Hall, leaving a widow and a large family.Heaton, J. H. ''Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time'' George Robertson, Sydney, 1879

Recognition

Hart was created C.M.G. in 1870.

Family

John Hart married Margaret Gillmor Todd ( Abt. 1815 – 1876) fourth daughter of Charles Hawkes Todd and Elizabeth Bentley (and sister of James Henthorn Todd, Robert Bentley Todd, William Gowan Todd, and Armstrong Todd) on 12 May 1845; among their two sons and five daughters were: *Elizabeth Sarah Hart (9 March 1846 – 3 June 1908) married Henry Brook Dobbin (ca.1840 – 22 July 1873) on 3 July 1867 *Margaret Hart (14 May 1847 – 2 August 1920) married Arthur Powell; she founded St. Margaret's Home for convalescents, Semaphore. * John Hart, Jr. (16 July 1848 – 15 August 1881) married Emily Lavinia Finch (1849 – 5 October 1939) on 8 August 1877; he was MHA for

1880–1881. He died at Wooton Lea, Glen Osmond *Mary Hart (9 September 1849 – 16 April 1915) married Henry Huth Walters (March 1841 – ) on 14 October 1868 *Charles Hawkes Todd Hart (19 November 1850 – ) was manager Port Adelaide flour mill 1873, was owner of "Beefacres", near Campbelltown with brother John Hart Jr.; may have returned to England. *Annie Hart (12 August 1852 – 1 December 1913) married Rowland James Egerton-Warburton (4 February 1846 – 1918) on 14 May 1872. Rowland was a son of Colonel Peter Egerton-Warburton.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Vol. 2, p.1675 *Katherine Hart (ca.1856 – 21 April 1904) married Algernon Arbuthnott Godwin on 9 January 1879

References

Sources

*Sally O'Neill,
Hart, John (1809–1873)
, ''

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, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pp 355–356. Retrieved 22 January 2009 * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, John 1809 births 1873 deaths Premiers of South Australia Settlers of South Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Treasurers of South Australia People from the City of London English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian flour millers and merchants 19th-century Australian politicians Australian people in whaling Australian ship owners Sealers 19th-century Australian businesspeople