John Colton
Encyclopedia
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(23 September 1823 – 6 February 1902) was an Australian politician, Premier of South Australia and philanthropist.
Colton, the son of William Colton, a farmer, was born in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
shire, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He arrived in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in 1839 with his parents, who went on the land. Colton, however, found work in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, and at the age of 19, began business for himself as a saddler. He was shrewd, honest and hard-working, and his small shop eventually developed into a large and prosperous wholesale ironmongery and saddlery business. In 1859 Colton was elected a member of the Adelaide City Council, and on 17 November 1862 was returned to the house of assembly for Noarlunga, at the head of the poll.
On 3 November 1868 he became commissioner of public works in the Strangways
Henry Strangways
Henry Bull Templar Strangways was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.Strangways was the eldest son of Henry Bull Strangways of Shapwick, Somerset, England. He visited South Australia as a boy. Returning to England he entered at the Middle Temple in November 1851 and was called...
ministry, but when this cabinet was reconstructed in May 1870 he was omitted. He was Mayor of Adelaide 1874-5, and on 3 June 1875 joined the second Boucaut
James Boucaut
Sir James Penn Boucaut KCMG was an Australian judge and politician, Premier of South Australia three times: 1866–1867, 1875–1876 and 1877–1878.-Early life:...
ministry as treasurer, but he resigned in March 1876. On 6 June he formed his first ministry as premier and commissioner of public works. His ministry lasted until 26 October 1877, when it resigned after a constitutional struggle with the upper house, which had not been consulted about the new parliamentary buildings. The government, however, had succeeded in passing a liberalized crown lands consolidation bill, and a forward policy of public works in connexion with railways and water supply had been carried out.
Colton might have been premier again in June 1881, but stood aside in favour of Bray
John Cox Bray
Sir John Cox Bray KCMG JP was a prominent South Australian politician and the first native-born Premier of South Australia .-Early life:...
. On 16 June 1884 he became premier and chief secretary in his second ministry, which in the following twelve months passed some very useful legislation, including a public health act, an agricultural crown land act, a pastoral land act, a vermin destruction act and a land and income tax act. The ministry was defeated on 16 June 1885. Seldom had a ministry done so much in so short a time, but Colton was prostrated by overwork and was compelled to live in retirement for some months. On his return to parliament he attempted to lead the opposition, but an attack of paralysis finished his political career and he resigned from parliament in January 1887.
Colton paid a visit to England and regained some of his health. Henceforth, he gave much of his time to philanthropic work. It was said of him that no society or charitable institution ever appealed to him in vain for either financial or personal assistance, if they could show that their aims were worthy. He took a great interest in Prince Alfred College, and was its treasurer for many years, and was for a time chairman of the board of management of the Adelaide hospital. He was a great advocate for temperance and retained his interest in the Methodist Church throughout his life.
He was survived by four sons and a daughter. He was created KCMG in 1892.