John Howard Angas (5 October 1823 – 17 May 1904) was an Australian pioneer, politician and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Early life and education

John Howard Angas was the second son of

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia. He established the South Au ...

and his wife Rosetta née French. He was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle i ...

. There were six siblings including Sarah Lindsay Evans, temperance activist, and

George French Angas George French Angas (25 April 1822 – 4 October 1886), also known as G.F.A., was an English explorer, naturalist, painter and poet who emigrated to Australia. His paintings are held in a number of important Australian public art collections. ...

, artist. When around four years old, John was boarded out with a couple in Hutton, Essex where his parents were living. He later attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

for short time. When 18 years of age, Angas was told by his father that he must prepare himself to go to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

to take charge of his father's land in the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinat ...

. As part of his preparation he learned German, so that he might be able to converse with the German settlers and studied land surveying.

Career

He left England on 15 April 1843 and was still only in his twentieth year when he arrived in South Australia. The colony was in financial difficulties, and he needed all his courage, caution, and good judgment. With better times the estate began to pay, good shorthorn cattle and

merino sheep The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the b ...

were purchased, and when his father arrived in 1851 it was realized that the property was now a valuable one. In 1854, the younger Angas sailed to England on a holiday and on 10 May 1855 was married to Susanne Collins (c. 1834 – 14 April 1910) at Bowdon near Manchester. Collingrove, Angaston

They returned in 1855 and settled at Collingrove near his father's estate. Country life did not agree with Mrs. Angas however, and on their next visit to the England, she remained there, and for six years her husband lived alternately there and in South Australia, supervising his pastoral interests. A son Charles Howard Angas was born at his grandmother's house in

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...

, England, on 21 April 1861, and his sister Lilian Gertrude Angas on 13 December 1862. In May 1863, John and Susanne Angas returned to South Australia on the steamer ''Pera'', with their two infant children. The family was in England again in 1879 when news of the death of John's father George Fife Angas was received, and they immediately returned to South Australia. When Angas was developing the land at Barossa, he had to make important decisions while quite young, and was a fine type of early pioneer. Like his brother,

, he had some talent as an artist, but the responsibilities thrown on him in early life prevented him from developing it to the same extent. John Howard Angas 3

In the 1860s, Angas purchased from his father the fine residence "Prospect Hall" on Torrens Road at the corner overlooking the Park Lands (not to be confused with J. B. Graham's "Prospect House", aka "Graham's Castle" on Prospect Road, Prospect). which served as his home while parliament was sitting. He was anxious to preserve the amenity of the area, and went to some pains to dissuade tradesmen such as the Champion Brothers from establishing disagreeable industries nearby. He became a breeder of Hackney ponies, Shorthorn cattle and

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bre ...

and Lincoln sheep, and is known to have paid as much as £1000 for a single

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch ...

. The prizes won by him at shows for livestock and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologica ...

were numerous. He was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1886 to 1888. In 1871, he was elected a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly for Barossa but resigned in 1875 on account of his health. In 1887, he re-entered politics as a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

and remained a member for seven years.

Philanthropy

He made numerous gifts to all kinds of charitable movements, religious institutions, and hospitals, and gave £10,000 to the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

to found scholarships. Among his charitable giving, a lasting memorial to Angas was his endowment enabling the building of a house (one of 64) at Dr Barnardo’s Home, The Village Home, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex. It was known as John Howard Angas Cottage and for about 100 years was home, at any one time, to 12 of the children in Barnardo’s care. Angas Cottage was one of many houses at The Village to be demolished to make way for a Tesco Supermarket and its car park on Cranbrook Road, Barkingside.

Death

He died on 17 May 1904 and was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Angas Chair of Chemistry

In 1884, Angas gave £6,000 to the University of Adelaide which, along with a "Covenant and Declaration of Trust", established a "Chair or Professorship of Chemistry". The Angas Professors have been:

Notes

References

Sources

*''The Adelaide Register'', 18 May 1904 *E. Hodder, George Fife Angas * *Burke's Colonial Gentry, 1891. {{DEFAULTSORT:Angas, John Howard 1823 births 1904 deaths Australian philanthropists 19th-century Australian businesspeople Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Settlers of South Australia Adelaide Club 19th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne People from Hutton, Essex 19th-century philanthropists English emigrants to colonial Australia