Francis Stacker Dutton CMG (18 October 1818 – 25 January 1877) was the seventh

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

, serving twice, firstly in 1863 and again in 1865.

Early life and education

Francis Dutton was born at

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

, Germany, where his father was

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vice-consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

, in 1818. He was educated at Hofwyl College, near

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in Switzerland, and afterwards at the high school at

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in Germany. At 17, he went to Brazil as a junior clerk and was there for about five years, in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

and

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Career

In 1839, Francis joined his older brothers Hampden, Pelham and

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

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, went overland to

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, and followed mercantile pursuits for about 18 months He then joined his brother Frederick at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, in the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

, and in 1842 or early in 1843, discovered

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance to th ...

, 45 miles north of

. He showed the specimen he had found to Captain

Charles Bagot Sir Charles Bagot, (23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as ambassador to the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the second Governor General of Cana ...

, who produced a similar specimen that his son had found in the same locality. The land was purchased and samples were sent to England, which showed a high percentage of copper. Dutton visited England in 1845 and sold his interest in the mine for a large sum. While in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he prepared for publication his ''South Australia and its Mines'', a work of 360 pages, a valuable contemporary account of the new colony published in 1846. Dutton returned to South Australia in 1847, and in 1849 became a member of the Adelaide board of city commissioners. In 1850 Dutton wrote "Constitution fuer Suedaustralien: Gesetz zur bessern Regierung der australischen Colonien Ihrer Majestaet" (In English: ''Constitution for South Australia: Act for the better government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies'') to bring discussions on the formation of a constitution in South Australia to the attention of German settlers. He was elected a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for East Adelaide in 1851 and sat until 1857, when he was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

as member for

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defi ...

(9 March 1857 to 18 March 1860) and then for

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(19 March 1860 to 22 Apr 1862; and 17 November 1862 to 28 September 1865). He was Commissioner of Crown Lands and Immigration in the

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler) or Ivar (born 1984), American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English ...

government from 30 September 1857 to 2 June 1859, and was premier from 4 to 15 July 1863. He formed his second cabinet on 22 March 1865 and was premier and commissioner of public works until 20 September of the same year, when he became

agent-general An Agent-General ( or , masculine and feminine respectively) is the representative in cities abroad of the government of a Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province or an States and territories of Australia, Australian state and, h ...

for South Australia in London. He was a good linguist, able to speak French, German, and Portuguese, and had an excellent knowledge of business.

Death

Dutton died on 25 January 1877.

Recognition

Dutton was made a Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in 1872. He was also a Fellow of the Geographical Society, Associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers, and a Member of both the

Royal Institution of Great Britain The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

and Colonial Institute. Dutton's Bluff, later Dutton Bluff, a hill some 66 km north-west of Quorn, was named for him and the

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government botanist named ''

Eremophila duttonii ''Eremophila duttonii'', commonly known as budda or harlequin fuchsia bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to mainland Australia where it occurs in all the mainland states except Victoria. It is a ...

'' in his honour.

Family

Dutton married Caroline MacDermott (ca.1822 – 1 June 1855), a daughter of Marshall MacDermott on 7 November 1849; they had two sons and a daughter: :*Francis "Frank" MacDermott Dutton (1850 – c. 9 May 1932) :*Caroline Birch Dutton (15 August 1852 – 1950) married barrister Charles Thomas Mitchell in Norland,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

on 17 August 1878. Her portrait was painted by

Carlile Henry Hayes Macartney Carlile Henry Hayes Macartney (1842–1924) was a British painter and Orientalist, noted for his portraits. Life and career Macartney was born on 3 March 1842 to Maxwell Macartney, a doctor, and Maxwell's first wife Emily Eliza Hayes. He was ...

:*Sir Frederick Dutton (14 April 1855 – c. 10 October 1930), solicitor of Wilkins, Blyth, Dutton and Hartley, married Beatrice Aimee Bridger MBE (1863 – 1 August 1928) in 1883. William Hampden Dutton (1805–1849), pastoralist of

Anlaby Station Anlaby or Anlaby Station is a historic heritage tourism destination located about 12 kilometres (7 miles) southeast of Marrabel and 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Kapunda in South Australia. The property was originally established in 1839 b ...

and miner at

, was a brother, as was pastoralist and parliamentarian

Frederick Hansborough Dutton Frederick Hansborough Dutton (2 April 1812 – 22 April 1890) was a pastoralist and politician in the colony of South Australia. Early life Frederick Hansborough (sometimes Hansbrow) Dutton was born on 2 April 1812 at Colne, Lancashire, and w ...

(1812–1890). Note: William Dutton (1811–1878), sometimes referred to as "William Pelham Dutton", ship's captain, whaler and pioneer of

Portland, Victoria Portland ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 Australian census, 20 ...

, was not closely related. Author

Geoffrey Dutton Geoffrey 'Geppie' Piers Henry Dutton Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (2 August 192217 September 1998) was an Australian author and historian. Early life and education Dutton was born at Anlaby Station near Kapunda, South Australia on 2 Au ...

, great-grandson of W. H. Dutton, warned against this confusion in his article on F. S. Dutton in the

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. For his relationship to other people prominent in the history of South Australia see separate article.

References

Sources

Parliament of South Australia - Dutton
*''

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and ...

'' and ''

South Australian Advertiser ''The Advertiser'' is a daily tabloid format newspaper based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. First published as a broadsheet named ''The South Australian Advertiser'' on 12 July 1858,''South Australia and its Mines''
London: T. and W. Boone. * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Francis Stacker Premiers of South Australia Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 1818 births 1877 deaths People from Cuxhaven 19th-century Australian politicians Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the South Australian Legislative Council