John Dunn (miller)

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John Dunn (13 February 1802 – 13 October 1894) was a flour miller in the early days of the colony of South Australia; a parliamentarian, philanthropist and a prominent citizen of Mount Barker, South Australia.

Career

He was born in the parish of Bondleigh, Devon, the son of a small farmer. At the age of 10 he was working as a servant then for seven years apprenticed to a miller at North Tawton[1] before he was appointed manager of a steam mill in Bideford, Devon and in 1836 owned his own mill at Monkleigh, some 6 km to the south. On the suggestion of his brothers,[2] who had emigrated earlier, he, his wife, and baby son left for Australia on the Lysander in May 1840, arriving at Glenelg on 6 September 1840.

He found employment with Borrow & Goodiar, then purchased land near his brother's property at Hay Valley (near Nairne), which he farmed and in 1842 built a windmill for grinding flour, possibly the first in Australia.[3] The variability of wind in the area limited its usefulness and he ordered a small steam engine from England. While waiting for its arrival he worked for Ridley, helping to construct his famous reaper, proving its performance on D. McFarlane's land at Mount Barker. He finally got the steam mill working, the first in Australia at a time when South Australia was the only wheat producing colony in Australia. For a time he managed the South Australian Company's mill in Adelaide,[1] which had been set up by William Randell.

Soon Ridley's, Hart's, Magarey's, and other brands of flour were exported to the other colonies, then overseas. His milling and grain business grew until the firm have now eleven steam flour mills, five fitted with more modern roller machinery.[3] The stone building which replaced the original timber structure was decommissioned in 1906 and is now on the National Register,[4]

Dunn admitted his two sons into partnership as well as his son-in-law W. Hill, and his brother-in-law G. Shorney. W. H. Dunn left about 1875 to farm in the North, and the remaining partnership was continued until the death of Hill in 1885 and Shorney in 1891. John Dunn retired from the business in 1889, leaving John Dunn, jun., as head of the firm.

Politics

He was on the Mount Barker council its chairman.

  • On 9 March 1857 he was elected to the first Legislative Assembly with F. E. H. W. Krichauff as partner. Krichauff resigned on 12 March 1858 and was replaced with William Rogers.
  • He was elected to the second Parliament on 27 April 1860 partnered with B. T. Finniss.
  • He was elected to the third Parliament on 24 November 1862 with Mr. Allan McFarlane (– March 1864) as junior member. William Rogers was McFarlane's replacement.
  • He was elected to the fourth Parliament, assembled 31 March 1865 with James Rankine. This parliament was dissolved on 26 March 1868 and Dunn was beaten in the election of the fifth Parliament by John Cheriton. On 12 August however a fresh election was called by the Court of Disputed Returns and Dunn was elected along with Cheriton. This did not last long however, as Dunn was accused of paying the travel expenses of some electors, a charge which he vehemently denied, and was unseated.
  • He was elected to the Legislative Council on 19 March 1869 along with John Baker, J. H. Barrow, T. English, Sir William Milne, A. B. Murray and Augustine Stow. He retired on 2 February 1877.[3]

Church

John Dunn was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and paid for the construction of the church building in Mount Barker which bears his name, opened in September 1884. He also paid for the construction of several rows of houses for the benefit of the invalid elderly of the district.[3]

Philanthropy

He gave to the people of Mount Barker the "Dunn Memorial Church" which was opened in September 1884,[1] and "Dunn Park" on the occasion of his 90th birthday,[5]

He died with an estate of around £100,000 with substantial bequests to a large number of charities, many associated with the Methodist Church[6] and Prince Alfred College.

The mills

Nairne

Mount Barker

His second mill, far more ambitious, was built in 1844.[1]

Bridgewater

Around 1857 Dunn bought part of section 1141 of Bridgewater to erect a steam and water mill[7] which, for most of the year, was operated by water from Cox's Creek. In 1870 a flood washed away the mill dam, which had only recently been completed together with the older dam and three bridges.[8]

Port Adelaide

Erected by John Dunn jun. after his abortive mission to the South Seas, this steam mill went into operation early in 1866, but was burned down late that year. As this closely followed a strike followed by a lockout, sabotage was suspected.[9]

John Dunn jun. subsequently rejoined his father's company around the same time as the other family members became joint partners, and the Port Adelaide mill was acquired by the company as price of his readmission.

It was rebuilt the following year but again in 1887 the building was again destroyed by fire.[10]

Port Pirie

Port Augusta

A steam mill, using all the latest technology, was installed at Port Augusta in 1880.[11]

Family

He was born the son of Charles Dunn (1770 – 17 June 1850) and Thomasin Dunn (1771 – 29 April 1852)(née Hooper) who emigrated to South Australia around 1860.

His brother Charles left for Australia earlier and founded Charleston, South Australia.[3]

Brothers George and James left for Australia earlier and settled in Onkaparinga.[3]

Brothers Edmund and Henry settled in Victoria.[12]

Brother Samuel remained in Devon.[12]

His sister Elizabeth (ca.1799 – 5 September 1882) who was married to Thomas Paltridge, arrived in the Phoebe in 1840.[1]

Another sister, Mrs Bennett, settled in Westport, Victoria.[12]

His parents followed shortly afterwards but did not survive long. They were buried at Blakiston, South Australia.[1]

He married Ann Rowe (1802 – 24 November 1870) in 1828. Their children were:

  • John Dunn jun. (1830 – 6 February 1892), born in Devon, married Elizabeth Williams on 25 July 1855. He had been brought into partnership with his father in 1852 but resigned in 1862 to work as a missionary in Fiji. He was forced to return in 1864 due to ill-health. On the retirement of his father in May 1899 was appointed head of the company. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1875 to 1877 and the Legislative Council from 1880 to 1888.
  • Mary Ann (1832–1912) married W. Hill
  • Elizabeth (1838 – 19 March 1856) married her cousin William Paltridge (ca.1824 – 8 May 1890) on 24 August 1854.[13] She died two years later, aged 18.
  • William Henry (1841 – 7 July 1891), born in Nairne, married Mary Matthews (22 November 1844 – 10 June 1929) on 21 December 1865, joined the company around 1864 and retired in 1875 to farm at Pekina, South Australia.[2] He was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1875 to 1877.[2]

On 27 February 1872 he married again, to Jane Cork Williams ( –1929), the eldest daughter of John Williams, builder and surveyor of North Adelaide. She was born in Northam, Devon, and was the eldest sister of his daughter-in-law.

He died at his home, "The Laurels", which was built in 1844 in Mount Barker and is still standing.[14] His wife Jane continued living there until her death in 1929.[15]

See also

Other flour millers of the period in South Australia include:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "A Noble Nonagenarian". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 13 February 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 French, M., 'Dunn, John (1802–1894)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dunn-john-3454/text5275, accessed 14 May 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Death of Mr. John Dunn". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 15 October 1894. p. 7. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  4. ↑ http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=7544
  5. ↑ "A Generous Donation". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 4 April 1892. p. 7. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  6. ↑ "Bequests by the Late Mr. John Dunn". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 23 October 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Advertising.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 26 February 1857. p. 4. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  8. ↑ "Disastrous Flood at Cox's Creek". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 17 August 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Fire at Pprt Adelaide—Destruction of Messrs. J. Dunn & Co.'s Mill.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 25 November 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Fire at the Port". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 25 March 1887. p. 4. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  11. ↑ "Starting of Messrs. Dunn snd Co.'S Steam Flour-Mill at Augusta". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 20 February 1880. p. 5. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "An Interview". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 13 February 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Family Notices.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 26 August 1854. p. 2. Retrieved 14 May 2012. 
  14. ↑ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jksgenie/mtbarker/homes1.htm
  15. ↑ http://www.smithrm.com/Penaluna.html
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