Robert Alfred Tarlton (21 April 1828 – 29 November 1918) was a businessman and politician in the early days of the colony South Australia.
History
Tarlton was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England and trained for the Ministry. He married Caroline Walters in 1854 and emigrated to South Australia in 1858. In 1860 he had a draper's shop on
Rundle Street and by 1861 was a director of
G. & R. Wills & Co. Ltd., a position he held until 1869. He was in 1865 a founder of the
Bank of Adelaide
The Bank of Adelaide was founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. The original directors of the company were Henry Ayers, Thomas Greaves Waterhouse, Robert B ...
, along with
Henry Ayers
Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873.
His lasting memorial is in the name Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, which was en ...
,
Fred. C. Bayer,
John Dunn,
Thomas Magarey,
William Morgan,
William Peacock,
Robert Barr Smith,
Thomas Greaves Waterhouse
Thomas Greaves Waterhouse Justice of the Peace, JP (22 January 1811, Conisborough,Conisborough is/has also been known as Conisbrough and Conisburgh. Yorkshire – 9 October 1885, London) was a prominent businessman, investor and philanthropist ...
and others. He was chairman of directors,
Commercial Bank of South Australia The Commercial Bank of South Australia was a South Australian bank founded in 1878 that failed in February 1886 due to fraudulent loans and transfers by the Manager, Alexander Crooks and Accountant, Alexander McKenzie Wilson. It was also notable f ...
in 1886 when manager Alexander Crooks and accountant Alexander McKenzie Wilson were charged with embezzlement.
The bank's liquidators subsequently sued him and fellow Directors
James Crabb Verco,
Alfred Tennant
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
,
Charles Rischbieth
Charles Frederick Rischbieth (5 January 1835 – 5 April 1893), born Carl Friedrich Rischbieth, was a leading businessman in the early years of the colony of South Australia.
History
Rischbieth was born in Neustadt am Rübenberge, near Hanover, ...
and
Maurice Salom for £320,000 damages, claiming negligence.
Tarlton was a devout Congregationalist, and one of the first deacons of the
North Adelaide Congregational Church
Brougham Place Uniting Church is a church on Brougham Place, North Adelaide, South Australia. It was formerly the North Adelaide Congregational Church.
Edmund Wright is attributed as the architect of the church and the foundation stone was la ...
, whose pastor, the Rev. Dr.
James Jefferis
James Jefferis (4 April 1833 – 25 December 1917) was an English Congregational minister with a considerable career in Australia.
History
Jefferis was born in St Pauls, Bristol, England, the elder son of carpenter James Jefferis and his wife S ...
, was a close friend, and later his brother-in-law, when the two married sisters
[ (Jefferis's second wife). Two of Jefferis's children were given "Tarlton" as a middle name: Nellie Tarlton Jefferis (1874–1959) and (Arthur) Tarlton Jefferis (1884–1965), father of ]Barbara Jefferis
Barbara Jefferis AM (25 March 1917 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian author.
Early life, and character formation
Barbara Jefferis was the daughter of (Arthur) Tarlton Jefferis (1884–1965) and Lucy Barbara Ingoldsby Jefferis, ''née'' Smyt ...
. And Tarlton's daughter Louie married J(ames) Eddington Jefferis (1860–1901), Jefferis's eldest son, by his first marriage.
Tarlton was elected to 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 House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...
in 1873 and retired in 1888.
They moved to Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
, where he was appointed J.P. in 1890, then in 1893 moved to "Willowdene", Frankfort, Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
, where he died; Mrs. Tarlton died at her daughter's residence in Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
.
Tarlton Street, Somerton may have been named for him.
Family
Tarlton married Caroline Walters ( – 20 March 1865) on 22 June 1854 and emigrated to South Australia in 1858. Caroline died at Somerton (then spelled Summerton). He married again, to Caroline's niece, Sophia Walters (died 21 March 1913) on 11 April 1866 and lived at Somerton. He had one son and four daughters by his first wife and six sons and three daughters by the second. Most of the Tarlton family moved to Launceston, Tasmania in 1889, then to South Africa in 1893.
*Florence (c. 1855 – 7 November 1889) married Rev. Osric Copland on 18 September 1879
*(Robert) Tatham Tarlton (1859 – 17 December 1894) lived at Johannesburg, died of tuberculosis
*Caroline Mary Tarlton ( – 3 October 1896) married W. Herbert Phillipps (3 December 1847 – 6 January 1935) on 18 December 1877
*Louie Tarlton (1861 – 1937) married J(ames) Eddington Jefferis, M.B., C.M., M.R.C.S., on 27 March 1888. He was the eldest son of Rev. Dr. James Jefferis
James Jefferis (4 April 1833 – 25 December 1917) was an English Congregational minister with a considerable career in Australia.
History
Jefferis was born in St Pauls, Bristol, England, the elder son of carpenter James Jefferis and his wife S ...
*Lizzie Tarlton (1863– ) married Henry S. Rickards on 13 September 1888
*Sophia Turner Tarlton (2 March 1867 – )
*Henry Herbert Tarlton (16 July 1869 – ) was partner in a safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
business in Kenya with brother Leslie and Victor Marra Newland
Victor Marra Newland, (18 August 1876 – 12 January 1953) was an Australian army officer and politician. He served in the Second Boer War and with the King's African Rifles in the First World War, was decorated for his service in each, and ret ...
*(Frank) Hedley Tarlton (1 August 1874 – 7 July 1935)
*(Annie) Maud Tarlton (1876–1958) married Alexander McCalman in Johannesburg in 1910
*Leslie Jefferis Tarlton (29 July 1877 – c. 1950) was partner in a safari business in Kenya with brother Henry and Victor Marra Newland. He married Jessie Wright of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
, England, in 1909.
*Edith Marion Tarlton (20 May 1879 – ) married Henry George Blake
*Elliot Tarlton (2 July 1882 – ) lived in Kenya, fought as Captain in WWI.
References
External links
Launceston Family Album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarlton, Robert Alfred
Members of the South Australian Legislative Council
1828 births
1918 deaths
19th-century Australian businesspeople