Henry Edward Downer (22 March 1836 – 4 August 1905) was a South Australian politician. He was a brother of Sir

John Downer Sir John William Downer, KCMG, KC (6 July 1843 – 2 August 1915) was an Australian politician who served two terms as Premier of South Australia, from 1885 to 1887 and again from 1892 to 1893. He later entered federal politics and served as ...

and

George Downer Alexander George Downer (28 January 1839 – 17 August 1916), usually known as George, or A. G. Downer, was a South Australian businessman and a partner with his brother Sir John Downer in the legal firm G & J Downer. History Downer was bor ...

, and a noted lawyer and businessman. Henry Edward Downer was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England and emigrated to Australia in 1838 with his parents Henry (ca.1812 – 25 September 1870) and Jane (ca.1808 – 4 Jan 1861), arriving in Adelaide in June 1838. His father ran a grocery store in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

(at that time Adelaide's premier shopping strip), in 1848 took on as partner Thomas Graves, who bought him out two years later, later was landlord of the Blenheim Hotel on the same street; they lived first at Hindley Street, followed by South Terrace, then at "St. Bernard's",

Magill ''Magill'' was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. ''Magill'' specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymous ...

, where he died after a long illness. Henry received an education at Francis Haire's academy and was articled to the legal firm of Wigley & Richman, working for a time as law clerk. He was called to the Bar in 1859. He was appointed Commissioner for Insolvency in 1865 and filled that position until 1881 when he resigned in order to contest the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

for the seat of

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Bau ...

. He entered Parliament in 1881 and held the seat until 1896, for two of those terms in conjunction with

Simpson Newland Simpson Newland CMG (2 November 1835 – 27 June 1925), pastoralist, author and politician, was a pioneer in Australia who made significant contributions to development around the Murray River. He was also an author of practical works and novel ...

. He was appointed

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

in May 1890 in the Cockburn ministry, succeeding F. F. Turner (solicitor to the Lands Titles Office; a temporary appointment of April that year following the defeat at the polls of

B. A. Moulden Beaumont Arnold Moulden (19 October 1849 – 20 December 1926) was a politician in colonial South Australia (a state of Australia from 1901), a member of the South Australian House of Assembly and Attorney-General of South Australia from 1889 to 1 ...

), and lost the post with the swearing-in of the Playford government the following year. His political achievements included: *conversion of the Strathalbyn to Victor Harbor horse tramway to steam locomotive. *amendments to Insolvency laws *amendments to Rent laws in 1883 to protect tenants He was an active Freemason and office-holder of the Anglican Church. He was a keen horseman and twice appointed master of the

Adelaide Hunt Club The Adelaide Hunt Club is an Australian fox hunting club founded in the 1840s. History Originally called The Adelaide Hounds, the club was founded in Adelaide in the early 1840s.Adelaide Hunt Club. As early as 3 July 1841, the Governor of South ...

. He served as steward for the

Adelaide Racing Club Adelaide Racing Club was a horse racing club which had its origins around 1870 but founded in 1879 in competition with the South Australian Jockey Club. The A.R.C. held their race meetings on the "Old Adelaide Racecourse" (later known as Victoria ...

Family

H. E. Downer married Maria Martin Haggar ( – 11 January 1912) on 13 August 1859. They had a home "Lyndhurst" on South Terrace, Adelaide. Their children included: *Ada Louisa Downer (23 November 1860 – 1941) married Otto Heinrich Schomburgk (1857–1938), son of

Moritz Richard Schomburgk Moritz Richard Schomburgk (5 October 1811 – 24 March 1891), generally known as Richard Schomburgk, was a German botanist and curator of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Family Schomburgk was born in Freyburg, Saxony, the son of Johann Friedrich L ...

, on 17 September 1892 *Alice Maria Downer (12 June 1862 – ) married Charles Herbert Warren (c. 1856 – 6 November 1917) on 7 February 1891. :*(Constance) Jean Warren (1891–1977) married the widower Lavington Bonython on 11 December 1912. She was later well known as Lady Bonython OBE. They had three children:

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

, Katherine and Kym. :She married again, to the widower Samuel Bruce Rudall (7 March 1859 – 3 January 1945), on 6 October 1923. *Frank Hagger Downer (18 October 1863 – 19 March 1938) married Charlotte Mary Murray (died 15 September 1920), youngest daughter of A. B. Murray on 8 August 1900 *(Harold) Charles Downer (24 August 1865 – 27 December 1921) married Bertha Law Smith ( – 11 July 1947) on 17 February 1909. He was manager of Melton station. He died at the home of his son-in-law Otto Schomburgk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Henry Edward Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Attorneys-general of South Australia 19th-century Australian lawyers 1836 births 1905 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia Downer family

Family

See also

References