John Thomas Hill Goodwin (28 October 1865 – 18 September 1950) was an Australian surveyor and public servant. He was the Commonwealth Surveyor-General from 1915 to 1925 and officer-in-charge of the

Federal Capital Territory A capital district, capital region, or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politic ...

from 1916 to 1924. He was known for his contribution to the development of the national capital

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, initially as a public servant and later as a private citizen.

Early life

Goodwin was born on 28 October 1865 in

Yelta, Victoria Yelta is a locality in Victoria, Australia. It was for a short time in the 1870s and 1880s the Victorian administrative centre of what is now Sunraysia and the Millewa. This role was then taken over by Mildura. At the , Yelta and the surroundin ...

. He was the son of Letitia (née Pennefather) and Rev. Thomas Hill Goodwin. His father, an Anglican clergyman, was born in England and his mother in Ireland. He was educated at

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

Career

After leaving school Goodwin trained as a surveyor with the Victorian Department of Lands and Surveys. He was a surveyor in private practice from 1891 to 1907, outside of a period with the Western Australian government from 1896 to 1899. He also qualified as a civil engineer. Goodwin returned to the Victorian public service in 1907 and joined the federal

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

in 1910. He was placed in charge of property transactions relating to defence, quarantine, and posts and telegraphs. In 1915, he was promoted to Chief Surveyor, later Surveyor-General.

Military service

Goodwin held a commission in the Victorian Military Forces from 1891. In 1910 he was appointed as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Corps of Australian Engineers within the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. He volunteered for overseas service during World War I but was retained in Australia. He retired from the reserve in 1920 with the rank of honorary lieutenant-colonel, and was often known as "Colonel Goodwin".

Canberra

In addition to his role as Chief Surveyor, Goodwin served as officer-in-charge of the

(FCT) from 1916 to 1924. He was a member of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee from 1921 to 1925. Goodwin lived at Yarralumla, the future

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

, during this period. In 1924 he organised the first sale of properties in Canberra to the public. Goodwin chose to remain in Canberra after retiring from the public service and became active in community affairs, in addition to resuming his surveying practice. He was a local magistrate and also served as the territory's coroner. He notably conducted a

coronial inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

into the

1940 Canberra air disaster The 1940 Canberra air disaster was an aircraft crash that occurred near Canberra, the capital of Australia, on 13 August 1940, during World War II. All ten people on board were killed: six passengers, including three members of the Australian ...

, which killed ten people including three cabinet members and a senior army officer. Goodwin was an elected member of the Federal Capital Territory Advisory Council from 1931 to 1943, including as chairman from 1936 to 1941. He was also a board member of the Canberra Community Hospital from 1938 to 1948 and a member of the National Capital Planning and Development Committee from 1939 to 1941. He advocated for the territory to be self-governing with its own

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 ...

, as well as for its representative in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

to be granted full voting rights.

Personal life

Goodwin married Harriet Turton in 1893, with whom he had three sons. He was widowed in 1933. His son Shirley Thomas William Goodwin was a career army officer who served in both world wars. He reached the rank of temporary

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

and was killed in action in New Guinea in 1943. Goodwin died at the Canberra Community Hospital on 18 September 1950 of

cerebral thrombosis A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...

. He had been in poor health for 18 months and a patient at the hospital for 11 months. He was buried in the graveyard of

St John the Baptist Church, Reid St John the Baptist Church is an Australian Anglican church in the Canberra suburb of Reid in the Australian Capital Territory. It is the oldest surviving public building within Canberra's inner city and the oldest church in the Australian Capi ...

Honours

Goodwin was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in 1927. In 1954, his name was used for Canberra's first aged care facility.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, John 1865 births 1950 deaths Australian surveyors Public servants of Victoria (state) Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian Capital Territory politicians People educated at Melbourne Grammar School