John Rankine (politician)

Dr. John Rankine ( – 1864), was a landowner and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia.

History

Rankine was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, brother of sheep farmer William Rankine. The two men (or three) emigrated to South Australia on the Fairfield in April 1839 and founded the town of Strathalbyn. They leased a large section of Hindmarsh Island, where they raised sheep and cattle. He built a large house on Hindmarsh Island, the island's first, in 1849 and operated "Rankine's Ferry" between the island and mainland, but, health failing, he returned to Scotland sometime after November 1856[1] and died there in 1864.[2][3]

Politics

He was an elected member of the Legislative Council from July 1854 to April 1857 for the seat of Hindmarsh.

Family

He was an uncle of fellow South Australian parliamentarian James Rankine.

References

  1. ↑ "Legislative Council". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 22 November 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  2. ↑ 30 April 1839 Alison Painter "John Rankine and Strathalbyn" professional historians association (south australia) accessed 30 September 2014
  3. ↑ http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=8138 SA Memory State Library of South Australia accesses 1 October 2014