John Hindmarsh
Encyclopedia
Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH
RN
(1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.
, and his wife Mary. He was baptized at St Mary's, Chatham, Kent.
in 1793 serving on HMS Bellerophon, being listed on the muster roll as the servant of his father. He saw action at the Battle of the Glorious First of June, the Battle of Algeciras Bay
(or the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) and at the Battle of the Nile
in 1798 where he was briefly the only officer on the deck of HMS Bellerophon where he gave orders which saved the ship from destruction. Hindmarsh was promoted lieutenant in 1803. He served on at the Battle of Trafalgar
, at the Battle of the Basque Roads
(1809) on and at the Battle of Java
on . A period of inaction followed, but in 1830 he was in command of and was made a rear-admiral in 1831. In 1836 Hindmarsh went to South Australia as its first governor after winning influential support and applying the Colonial Office
.
When the Naval General Service Medal, designed by William Wyon
, was introduced, it was discovered that only two people were entitled to the medal with seven clasps (one clasp for each battle the recipient took part in): Sir John Hindmarsh and Admiral of the Fleet
Sir James Alexander Gordon
.
's surveyors), Africaine, Tam O'Shanter, Rapid, and HMS Buffalo
(carrying Hindmarsh). Initially they landed on Kangaroo Island
, and sent out the team of surveyors led by Light to find a suitable place for the capital city of the new colony. Hindmarsh wanted it at Port Lincoln, instead of at the present site which had been selected by Light. Light eventually chose the site of Adelaide
, and the fleet moved up Gulf St Vincent to Holdfast Bay
, now known as Glenelg, South Australia. Hindmarsh's proclamation on 28 December 1836 announced the colonial government and stated that Aborigines were to be treated justly and were now British Subjects. Although most South Australians have been taught that Hindmarch's proclamation created the colony, it did not. King William IV, having been empowered by an Act of Parliament in 1834, over a year latter, in February 1836 in Letters Patent 'Erected and Established' the Province of South Australia. No governor had the power to create colonies.
There was some question as to the respective powers of the governor and the resident commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher
, and the two came into open conflict. Feeling ran high and when Hindmarsh went so far as to suspend Robert Gouger
and other public officers, the commissioners brought the matter before the secretary of state for the colonies. Hindmarsh was then recalled to London in 1838. In 1840 he was made as Lieutenant-Governor of Heligoland
. Hindmarsh was knighted by Queen Victoria
on 7 August 1851, attained the rank of rear-admiral in 1856 and retired in 1856 to the seaside town of Hove
, England.
of Shipley Hall
, Derbyshire, and was the mother of Maria, who married Sir Constantine Phipps, father of ambassador Sir Eric Phipps
. A grandson Alfred Hindmarsh
was an MP and early Labour politician in New Zealand.
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
RN
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.
Early life
Hindmarsh was the son of John Hindmarsh, a gunner on HMS BellerophonHMS Bellerophon (1786)
The first HMS Bellerophon of the Royal Navy was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched on 6 October 1786 at Frindsbury on the River Medway, near Chatham. She was built at the shipyard of Edward Greaves to the specifications of the Arrogant, designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1758, the lead ship...
, and his wife Mary. He was baptized at St Mary's, Chatham, Kent.
Naval career
Hindmarsh joined the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1793 serving on HMS Bellerophon, being listed on the muster roll as the servant of his father. He saw action at the Battle of the Glorious First of June, the Battle of Algeciras Bay
Battle of Algeciras Bay
The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French-Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar. In the first battle, the French drove off an attack by the larger British fleet and captured one ship of the line...
(or the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) and at the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
in 1798 where he was briefly the only officer on the deck of HMS Bellerophon where he gave orders which saved the ship from destruction. Hindmarsh was promoted lieutenant in 1803. He served on at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, at the Battle of the Basque Roads
Battle of the Basque Roads
The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...
(1809) on and at the Battle of Java
Anglo-Dutch Java War
The Anglo-Dutch Java War in 1810–1811 was a war between Britain and the Netherlands , fought entirely on the Island of Java in colonial Indonesia.-Background:...
on . A period of inaction followed, but in 1830 he was in command of and was made a rear-admiral in 1831. In 1836 Hindmarsh went to South Australia as its first governor after winning influential support and applying the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
.
When the Naval General Service Medal, designed by William Wyon
William Wyon
William Wyon, RA , was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death. He was influenced by the master of relief sculpture, John Flaxman. Wyon was a highly visible proponent of the Neoclassicist vogue, and was elected to the Royal Academy in 1838.Wyon was born in Birmingham,...
, was introduced, it was discovered that only two people were entitled to the medal with seven clasps (one clasp for each battle the recipient took part in): Sir John Hindmarsh and Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir James Alexander Gordon
James Alexander Gordon
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Alexander Gordon, KCB, RN was a distinguished British officer in the Royal Navy. His 75 years in the service, from Midshipman to Admiral of the Fleet was unprecedented in its duration. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
.
Governor
Hindmarsh arrived in South Australia in 28 December 1836, with a fleet of ships carrying the first British settlers for the colony. The ships in the fleet included the Cygnet (carrying Colonel William LightWilliam Light
Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...
's surveyors), Africaine, Tam O'Shanter, Rapid, and HMS Buffalo
HMS Buffalo (1813)
HMS Buffalo was a storeship of the Royal Navy, originally built in India as the merchant vessel Hindostan. She later served as a convict ship and as transport for immigrants to Australia before being wrecked in 1840.-Launch and purchase:...
(carrying Hindmarsh). Initially they landed on Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, and sent out the team of surveyors led by Light to find a suitable place for the capital city of the new colony. Hindmarsh wanted it at Port Lincoln, instead of at the present site which had been selected by Light. Light eventually chose the site of 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 the fleet moved up Gulf St Vincent to Holdfast Bay
Holdfast Bay
Holdfast Bay is a small bay in Gulf St Vincent, next to Adelaide, South Australia. Along its shores lie the City of Holdfast Bay and the popular beach-side suburb of Glenelg.-European settlement:...
, now known as Glenelg, South Australia. Hindmarsh's proclamation on 28 December 1836 announced the colonial government and stated that Aborigines were to be treated justly and were now British Subjects. Although most South Australians have been taught that Hindmarch's proclamation created the colony, it did not. King William IV, having been empowered by an Act of Parliament in 1834, over a year latter, in February 1836 in Letters Patent 'Erected and Established' the Province of South Australia. No governor had the power to create colonies.
There was some question as to the respective powers of the governor and the resident commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher
James Hurtle Fisher
Sir James Hurtle Fisher was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident South Australian to be knighted....
, and the two came into open conflict. Feeling ran high and when Hindmarsh went so far as to suspend Robert Gouger
Robert Gouger
Robert Gouger was one of the founders of South Australia and colonial secretary.-Early life:Gouger was the fifth son of nine children of George Gouger , who was a prosperous city merchant, and his wife Anne, née Sibley. Robert was educated at Nottingham, England, and on leaving school he entered...
and other public officers, the commissioners brought the matter before the secretary of state for the colonies. Hindmarsh was then recalled to London in 1838. In 1840 he was made as Lieutenant-Governor of Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
. Hindmarsh was knighted by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
on 7 August 1851, attained the rank of rear-admiral in 1856 and retired in 1856 to the seaside town of Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, England.
Legacy
Hindmarsh lived at 30 Albany Villas for a number of years, where there is now a blue plaque in his honour. Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh died in London on 29 July 1860 and is buried in the grounds of St Andrews Church, Hove. Hindmarsh was governor of South Australia for little more than a year, an unfortunate episode in an otherwise distinguished career. His position was anomalous from the start, and, though he was sometimes wanting in both tact and wisdom, his difficulties were great. For an interesting summary see A. Grenfell Price's Founders and Pioneers of South Australia, p. 92. His daughter Jane married Alfred Miller Mundy MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
of Shipley Hall
Shipley Hall
Shipley Hall was a Hall and country estate near Heanor and Ilkeston in Derbyshire, England which now forms a Country Park.-Early history:The Shipley Estate is an ancient manor which was referenced in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land was extensive forest used for hunting, with a...
, Derbyshire, and was the mother of Maria, who married Sir Constantine Phipps, father of ambassador Sir Eric Phipps
Eric Phipps
Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a British diplomat.-Family and early life:Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife Maria Jane...
. A grandson Alfred Hindmarsh
Alfred Hindmarsh
Alfred Humphrey Hindmarsh was a New Zealand politician, lawyer and unionist.Hindmarsh was born in Port Elliot, Australia, and was the grandson of John Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia. He moved with his family to Napier, New Zealand, in 1878. Hindmarsh trained as a lawyer, and was...
was an MP and early Labour politician in New Zealand.
Places named after John Hindmarsh
- The Adelaide suburb of HindmarshHindmarshHindmarsh may refer to* John Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia after whom the following places are named** Division of Hindmarsh, an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives...
was originally laid out as a speculative subdivision, the Village of Hindmarsh, on land owned by him. It was for many years the centre of a Local Government Area called the Town of Hindmarsh, which has now been amalgamated into the City of Charles SturtCity of Charles SturtThe City of Charles Sturt is a Local Government Area in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, stretching to the coast.It came into being on 1 January 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the City of Hindmarsh Woodville and the City of Henley and Grange...
. - The Division of HindmarshDivision of HindmarshThe Division of Hindmarsh is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia covering the western gulfside suburbs of Adelaide.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir John Hindmarsh, who was Governor of South Australia 1836-38. For many years it was one of the safest Labor seats...
federal electorate takes in the area near the proclamation site. - Hindmarsh IslandHindmarsh IslandHindmarsh Island is an island in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia. Located on the Fleurieu Peninsula, it is a popular tourist destination, which has increased in popularity since the Hindmarsh Island bridge was opened in 2001...
is near the town of Goolwa, close to the Murray MouthMurray MouthMurray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the southern Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time...
. - The Hindmarsh River flows into Encounter BayEncounter BayEncounter Bay is located on the south central coast of South Australia, some 100 km south of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the encounter on 8 April 1802 between Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin, both of whom were charting the Australian coastline for their respective countries...
south of Adelaide. - Hindmarsh Square, AdelaideHindmarsh Square, AdelaideHindmarsh Square is a public square in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the centre of the north-eastern quarter of the city, and surrounds the intersection of Grenfell and Pulteney Streets, near the eastern end of the Rundle Mall. Pirie Street forms the southern boundary of the square...
is an open space public park within the City of AdelaideCity of AdelaideThe City of Adelaide is a local government area in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. It covers the original Adelaide city centre settlement, , North Adelaide, and the Adelaide Park Lands which surround North Adelaide and the city centre.Established in 1840, the organisation now...
. - Hindmarsh Drive runs through the districts of Weston CreekWeston CreekWeston Creek is a residential district of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, situated to the west of the Woden Valley district and approximately 13 km southwest of the Canberra city centre...
and South CanberraSouth CanberraSouth Canberra or the Inner South is a central district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia.South Canberra is located to the south of Canberra's city centre, on the south bank of Lake Burley Griffin....
in CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia.