William Rounsevell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Rounsevell (ca.1816 – 5 October 1874)[1] was a businessman of Cornish origins who founded a livery stable and mail coach business in the early days of South Australia. His sons John Rounsevell (ca.1836–1902) and William Benjamin Rounsevell (1842–1923) were prominent businessmen, pastoralists and politicians in South Australia.

The Emigrants

William was a son of John (ca.1780 – 6 November 1856) and Jenny Rounsevell (ca.1779 – 23 March 1858) of Boscastle, Cornwall. Four of their children emigrated to South Australia:

  • Mary ( – ), with her husband James Turner on the Eden in 1838.
  • John Rounsevell (ca.1811 – 30 September 1885) and his wife Elizabeth (née Poplestone) (ca.1811 – 19 October 1877) and their daughter Mary Jane (later Mrs August Meyer) on the City of Adelaide in 1839. They settled at "Tara" at Little Hampton and had a large family.
  • William Rounsevell, the subject of this article, with wife Grace and son John on the City of Adelaide in 1839
  • Jane ( – ), with her husband Isaac Coad (ca.1816 – 30 June 1895) on the Cleveland in 1839. They settled at Strathalbyn and had one daughter, Ann, in 1857.

History

William Rounsevell, with his wife Grace (née Rowe) and son John (ca.1836 – 15 May 1902), emigrated from Boscastle in his native Cornwall, on the City of Adelaide, arriving on 6 July 1839, having been persuaded to emigrate by Sir Rowland Hill. William was a farmer, but having brought pit saws with him, proceeded immediately to fell and saw timber for the South Australia Company. He then joined the police force, soon reaching the rank of senior sergeant[2] but resigned after a few years, perhaps in 1842.[3]

While still working as a policeman for the South Australia Company, he purchased land on Pirie Street, Adelaide, where he established a stables and horse letting business, then in 1852 tried his luck at the Victorian gold diggings. On his return, he began running stagecoaches, a business which progressively grew until it was the largest such owned by any man in Australia.[2] He took on mail contracting, and business ran profitably until December 1866, when he sold out to Cobb & Co, who took over services on 1 January 1867.[4] The office he set up in Ackland Street passed to Cobb & Co., then served for their successors John Hill & Co. Ltd., Graves, Hill & Co., and finally Fewster & Co.[5]

To provide feed for the horses, Rounsevell grew hay in various locations around Adelaide, the most productive of which was some 400 acres at Glenside on the site later to become the Parkside Lunatic Asylum. The land was owned by Sir Rowland Hill and Nathaniel Knox and managed by John Howard Clark. Similar farms were established at Kingston, Mount Barker, Nairne, Willunga and Wild Horse Plains. Among the grasses grown was perennial ryegrass and ribleaf or lamb's tongue, which he may have been responsible for introducing to South Australia. He was the first to install a steam-powered chaff-cutter.[2]

In 1870 he bought David Randall's Mount Crawford property "Glenparra"[6] or "Glen Para" for £15,000 and renamed it "Corryton Park".[7] It was eventually sold to Charles Gebhardt of Gawler. Later owners were H. G. Lillecrapp then Lachlan McBean.

He purchased a house which he named "Tremere" ("by the sea"), from R. B. Colley at Glenelg, the dining hall of which had been used as the original Glenelg Town Hall, and enlarged it substantially. He leased the mansion to the Government for the duration of several of his overseas trips, and it was there that Lady Daly died.

Family

He married twice; and some time before 1842 to Mary Carvosso (ca.1818 – 3 October 1911) She married again, on 14 December 1878, to Richard Langman (ca.1818 – 19 November 1891).

William died leaving a widow and four chldren including:

  • Son John (ca.1836 – 15 May 1902) See biography below
  • Son William Benjamin Rounsevell (23 September 1842 – 18 July 1923) See biography below.

John Rounsevell

John Rounsevell (ca.1836 – 15 May 1902) was born in Landunna, Cornwall and came out to South Australia with his parents in the City of Adelaide arriving on 6 July 1839.[3] He was educated at St. Peter's College, then started working for his father's livery stable and mail coach business, becoming a partner with responsibility for operations north of Kapunda.[3] He became an expert horseman and a foremost exponent of the whip.

He retired from "the road" when the company was sold to Cobb and Co.. He managed his father's property Corryton Park (which he later inherited) near Mount Crawford and turned his attention to filling Government contracts. He supplied sleepers for railway work and supervised construction of the 500 mile (800 km) section of the Adelaide to Darwin telegraph line north from Port Augusta, and supplied a great number of its telegraph poles as well as large numbers of horses, bullocks and camels for the project.

In 1864 he took up pastoral country in the vicinity of the Warburton Range and lying to the north-east and south-east of it, and erected the trig point on Rounsevell Hill, to the north-west. He also named Gibraltar, the large granite outcrop in the district, and Sturt's Rock, named for the number of Sturt peas in the neighborhood.

He turned his attention to sheepfarming, at Corryton Park, successfully breeding stud sheep, while his wool clips had a good reputation both in South Australia and in London.[3]

Politics

In 1865 John Rounsevell was elected as a member of the South Australian House of Assembly for the district of Light, but he retired two years later.

Subsequently he sat in the House of Assembly for the district of Gumeracha.

He served in the Adelaide City Council. His residence "Landunna" at 111 Hutt Street became the Naval, Military and Airforce Club in 1956. The cannon in its grounds once belonged to H.M.S. Buffalo, the ship which brought Governor Hindmarsh to South Australia.[3]

Family

He was married four times: to (Emma Hart (ca.1841 – 2 July 1876) on 4 Feb 1857, Eliza Hart (ca.1842 – 5 Aug 1881) on 29 September 1877,[8] Elizabeth Jane Coombs (1856 – 1 December 1886) on 3 December 1881, and Sarah Coombs (1859 – ca.1932) (sister of Elizabeth) on 13 June 1887. Their children included:

  • Emma Adelaide (25 March 1859 – 13 September 1863) born Kapunda
  • (John) William Henry (1860 – 9 April 1893)
  • Emma (Eliza) Victoria ( – 8 July 1929) married Augustus Samuel Beaumont (April 1847 – 24 March 1931) on 5 March 1879
  • Florence Victoria Maria (1865 – 23 April 1950) married solicitor Thomas Gepp (ca.1809 – 17 November 1894) on 25 October 1884.
  • Horace Vernon Rounsevell (20 March 1867 – ca.8 May 1919) married Clara Rachel Coombs (1866 – 1937) on 8 June 1912. He was a partner in the firm of Symon, Rounsevell, & Cleland.
  • Ruby (17 February 1883 – 1965) married Charles Wurm (later Weston) () on 12 November 1910
  • Harold (4 February 1885 – 1893)
  • Reginald (1886 – 1945) was on the staff of the Bank of Australasia
  • Benjamin Corryton (1889 – 1933)
  • Clara Myrtle (1895 – 1971)
  • John Corryton (1897 – 1968) [9]


William Rounsevell died as the result of a heart attack after suffering from heart disease for some time.


References

  1. ↑ Fischer, G. L. "Rounsevell, William Benjamin (1843–1923)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 18 January 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "A Man's Duty is to Serve His Country". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 13 September 1913. p. 2 Section: Second Section. Retrieved 14 September 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Death of Mr. John Rounsevell". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 16 May 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 16 September 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Topics of the Day". The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 2 January 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 19 September 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Last of the Reinsmen". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 9 April 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 11 September 2012. 
  6. ↑ "Shropshire Sheep". Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 5 October 1907. p. 8. Retrieved 1 December 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Archives Picture Puzzle is Solved". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 17 August 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 19 September 2012. 
  8. ↑ Cobiac (ed), A.L. (2001). South Australian Marriages Index of Registrations 1842 to 1916. Adelaide, South Australia: South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. p. 1634. ISBN 0 947280 48 0. 
  9. ↑ Thomas, Jan (ed) (1997). South Australian Births Index of Registrations 1842 to 1906. South Australia: South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc. p. 2582. ISBN 0 947280 294. 

Bibliography

Rounsevell, James Corryton (1992), The Rounsevell family in early South Australia (2nd ed.), J.C. Rounsevell, retrieved 20 September 2012 

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.