John Hart (South Australian colonist)

Captain John Hart (25 February 1809 – 28 January 1873) was a South Australian politician and a Premier of South Australia.

Early life

The son of journalist/newspaper publisher John Harriott Hart & Mary nee Glanville, John was born on 25 February 1809 probably at 23 Warwick Lane off Newgate Street, London. At Christ Church, Greyfriars (London), John was baptised Mar. 27th. 1808. At 12 years of age he first went to sea, visiting Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, 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 and Gulf St Vincent. In 1833 he took Edward Henty to and from Portland Bay. In 1836 he was sent to London to purchase another vessel, and returning in the Isabella took the first live stock from Tasmania to South Australia in 1837. On the return voyage the Isabella was wrecked off Cape Nelson and Hart lost everything he had. He went to Adelaide 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 Adelaide. In 1839 he managed a whaling station at Encounter Bay, and in 1843 sailed to England in command of the Augustus of which he was two-thirds owner. After another voyage to England he gave up the sea in 1846, and settled near Port Adelaide, where he joined with H. Kent Hughes as merchants Hughes and Hart then, as Hart & Company, established large and successful flour mills. 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.

Politician

Hart took an interest in public affairs, in 1851 was elected to the Legislative Council. Hart resigned in 1853 to visit England and was re-elected the next year. In 1857 Hart became a member for Port Adelaide in the first House of Assembly. He was treasurer in the Baker 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 and from 24 September 1868 to 13 October 1868. He was premier and treasurer from 30 May 1870 to 10 November 1871, his last term of office, and he died suddenly on 28 January 1873, leaving a widow and a large family. Hart was created C.M.G. in 1870.

References

• Sally O'Neill, 'Hart, John (1809 - 1873)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 355–356. Retrieved 22 January 2009
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Hart, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogHa-He.html#hart1. Retrieved 2009-01-22.