Jefferson Pickman Stow (4 September 1830 – 4 May 1908), commonly referred to as J. P. Stow, was a newspaper editor and magistrate in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Stow was born at

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England the second son of the Rev. Thomas Quentin Stow and his wife Elizabeth, ''née'' Eppes. Jefferson Stow came to South Australia with his parents and brothers (

Randolph Isham Stow Randolph Isham Stow (17 December 1828 – 17 September 1878) was an English-born Australian Supreme Court of South Australia judge. Early life Stow was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England and baptised at Water Lane-Independent, Bishops Sto ...

and

Augustine Stow Augustine Stow, J.P., (3 August 1833 – 29 May 1903) was a politician in colonial South Australia, member of the South Australian House of Assembly for West Torrens from November 1862 to 1864, and for Flinders from October 1866 to 1868. S ...

) in 1837. After engaging in farming pursuits, he went to the Victorian diggings in 1856. In 1859, at a time of reduced business activity, Stow and

George Isaacs George Alfred Isaacs JP DL (28 May 1883 – 26 April 1979) was a British politician and trades unionist who served in the government of Clement Attlee. Isaacs was born in Finsbury to a Methodist family. He married Flora Beasley (1884–19 ...

founded in

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

a social club they called the "Humbug Society", with no other purpose than to poke fun at hypocrisy and self-aggrandisement in convivial surroundings. The club met at George Causby's Globe Hotel, where also met various fraternal societies, who became, with their regalia and pompous ceremonies, the targets of some good-humored "humbug" banter. The club adopted the

bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

as its emblem, and published a club newsletter under that banner, which became locally famous for its wit and lighthearted comments on the news of the week. This publication became ''

The Bunyip ''The Bunyip'' is a weekly newspaper, first printed on 5 September 1863, and originally published and printed in Gawler, South Australia. Its distribution area includes the Gawler, Barossa, Light, Playford, and Adelaide Plains areas. Along ...

'', which continued well into the 21st century. In 1864 Stow traveled privately, as representative of a some investors in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, to

Escape Cliffs Escape Cliffs is a place on the northern coast of the Northern Territory of Australia, on the western coast of the Cape Hotham peninsula, and the eastern shore of Adam Bay, near the mouth and estuary of the Adelaide River. It lies about 60&nb ...

, where of a party of 40 under

B. T. Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in ...

was to establish a settlement named Palmerston at the mouth of the

Adelaide River The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branc ...

. A year later, disillusioned with the prospects of that location, he was one of a party of seven who sailed from Adam Bay to

Champion Bay Champion Bay is a coastal feature north of Geraldton, Western Australia, facing the port and city between Point Moore and Bluff Point. Champion Bay was named by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of , who surveyed the area in April 1840. He named i ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in a small ship's boat they dubbed the ''

Forlorn Hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...

''. Before leaving, he sent off for publication in '' The Advertiser'' a litany of negative observations on the site chosen, and particularly on Finniss as a leader. An account of this expedition was published by Stow, who was immediately appointed to the staff of ''The Advertiser'', and in 1876 was appointed editor in succession to

William Harcus William Harcus (c. 1823 – 10 August 1876) was a Congregationalist minister in England and South Australia, where he later turned journalist and editor. History Harcus was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and trained for the Congregational ministry a ...

. Stow was the author of "''South Australia: its History, Productions and Natural Resources''," compiled at the request of the South Australian government for circulation at the

Calcutta International Exhibition The Calcutta International Exhibition world's fair was held in Calcutta (now Kolkata) from the end of 1883 to March 1884. Summary The fair was held between 4 December 1883 and 10 March 1884. and took place in the grounds of the Indian Museum an ...

(1883), and published that year. It is a well written and concise manual, and has had an extensive circulation in Australia, England and India. Stow was appointed a magistrate in 1884, and in 1886 Commissioner of Insolvency, and Special and Stipendiary Magistrate at

Mount Gambier, South Australia Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

and later at

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...

. Stow retired in 1904; he died on 4 May 1908 at

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

, survived by his wife, two sons and five daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stow, Jefferson Pickman 1830 births 1908 deaths Australian newspaper editors Australian magistrates People from Buntingford English emigrants to colonial Australia