Sir John Lancelot Stirling, (5 November 1849 – 24 May 1932), generally known as Sir Lancelot Stirling, was an Australian politician and grazier. He was a member of 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 ...

from 1881 to 1887, representing Mount Barker, and 1888 to 1890, representing Gumeracha. He was then 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 South Australian House of Assembly, H ...

from 1891 to 1932, representing the Southern District. He was President of the Legislative Council from 1901 to 1932 and was Chief Secretary in the seven-day Solomon Ministry of 1899. His non-continuous terms over several decades add up to a total of just under 49 years of service. He is, to date, the longest-serving politician in the history of South Australia.

Early life

Stirling was born at Strathalbyn, South Australia, the son of Edward Stirling (1804–1873) and his wife Harriett, ''née'' Taylor and brother of Sir Edward Charles Stirling. His father was the illegitimate child of a Scottish planter in Jamaica and an unknown woman of colour. Stirling was educated at

St Peter's College, Adelaide St Peter's College (officially The Anglican Church of Australia Collegiate School of Saint Peter, but commonly known as Saints) is an Private school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Primary school, primary and Secondary school ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he graduated B.A. and LL.B Stirling was a good athlete and, representing

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

against

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, won the 120 yards hurdles. Stirling also won the amateur championship of England in this event in 1870 and again in 1872, his time in the latter year being 16.8 seconds, considered a good performance at that time.

Career

Stirling read for the bar and was admitted at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1872, but never practised. Stirling returned to

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 ...

soon afterwards, became a pastoralist, and bred prize

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and

merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, 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 monop ...

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. He entered the South Australian Legislative Assembly in 1881 for Mount Barker, which he held until April 1887, and afterwards represented Gumeracha until 1890, when he became a member of the then-

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, representing the Southern District. In December 1899 Stirling was chief secretary in the conservative

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

government but this ministry was defeated as soon as the house met. In 1901 Stirling was elected

President of the South Australian Legislative Council The President of the South Australian Legislative Council is the presiding officer of the South Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the speaker of the South Australia ...

, and would serve in the position for a record 31 years. Stirling was made a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 14 August 1902, after the honour had been announced in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902. He was appointed a Knight 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 ...

(KCMG) in 1909 and Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1918. He continued his interest in sport all his life, pioneering

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

in South Australia and captaining the team which twice beat Victoria. For a time Stirling was master of the Adelaide Hounds and was a well-known figure at racing meetings. He was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its president from 1891 to 1893; he was president of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded ...

, the Pastoralists' Association, the St Peter's Old Collegians Association, the South Australian Zoological and Acclimatization Society, and was a member of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

council. He was a member of the Caledonian Society of South Australia, and its Chief 1885–1886. Stirling also possessed a good business sense and was a director of well-known companies. In politics he was respected as a man of individuality but not regarded as a first-rate speaker. Stirling found his ideal position as president of the council, admirably carrying out his duties; as the years passed becoming a kind of elder brother to the newer members.

Family

On 2 December 1882, Stirling married Florence Marion, daughter of Sir William Milne and was survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters. His elder daughter Madge Mary Stirling (1887–1940) married Knox Lister Colley (1885 – 7 December 1934) on 28 January 1914. Knox was a grandson of R. B. Colley, first mayor of Glenelg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, John Lancelot 1849 births 1932 deaths Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Presidents of the South Australian Legislative Council People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Liberal and Country League politicians People from Strathalbyn, South Australia Burials at North Road Cemetery Australian people of Jamaican descent Australian people of Scottish descent

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...