Sir Jenkin Coles (19 January 1843 – 6 December 1911) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a 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 of Australia's states and territories ...

n politician. He was a member of 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 ...

from 1875 to 1878 and 1881 to 1911, representing the electorates of

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

(1875–78, 1881–1902) and Wooroora (1902–1911). He was

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

from 1886 to 1887 and later served as Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1890 to 1911.

Early life

Coles was the son of Jenkin and Caroline Coles, came of an old north of Ireland family, and was born at

Liverpool, New South Wales Liverpool is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately south-west of the Sydney CBD. Liverpool is the administrative seat of the local government area of the City of Liverp ...

. When he was seven years old his family returned to Europe, and he was educated at

Christ's Hospital School Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 155 ...

, Horsham.

Career

Coles' parents came to Australia again in 1858 and settled at

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 ...

, South Australia. Coles obtained a position as a junior clerk with the Murray River Navigation office, but gave this up to become assistant dispenser and receiver of stores at the Adelaide hospital for three years. He then joined the mounted police and served for three years in the country. On leaving this service he became an auctioneer and stock salesman and a member of the real estate firm of Coles and Goodchild, with which James White was later associated. The business prospered so much that Coles was able to practically retire from it before he was 40. He was returned to the

as member for

in 1875, but did not stand at the 1878 election as he found that the strain of carrying on both business and parliamentary duties was too great. In 1881 he was elected for Light, afterwards merged into Wooroora, and represented the district for over 30 years. He was commissioner of crown lands from June 1884 to February 1885, and commissioner of public works from February to June 1885 in the second John Colton ministry and showed himself to be a vigorous administrator. He was commissioner of crown lands again in the

Thomas Playford II Thomas Playford (26 November 1837 – 19 April 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as Premier of South Australia (1887–1889; 1890–1892). He subsequently entered federal politics, serving as a Senator for South Australia ...

ministry from June 1887 to June 1889. In 1890 he was elected speaker of the house of assembly in succession to Sir John Bray, and held the position until he resigned, about three weeks before his death of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

on 6 December 1911. He married in 1865 Ellen Henrietta Briggs, who survived him with four sons and seven daughters. Two of his sons founded the auctioneering firm Coles Brothers of Kapunda. He was created K.C.M.G. in 1894. Coles was speaker for 21 years and 165 days, a then record in Australia, and until his last illness never missed a sitting. He had a great knowledge of the standing orders and was firm, tactful, alert and wise. He was thoroughly respected on both sides of the house, his rulings and requests were always obeyed, and under his sway the house of assembly in South Australia established a high reputation for the orderly conduct of its business.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, Jenkin 1843 births 1911 deaths People educated at Christ's Hospital Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Speakers of the South Australian House of Assembly Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia Australian real estate businesspeople Australian auctioneers 19th-century Australian businesspeople