Sir Richard Davies Hanson (6 December 1805 – 4 March 1876), was the fourth

premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

, from 30 September 1857 until 8 May 1860, and was a

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

from 20 November 1861 until 4 March 1876 on the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

Life

Hanson was born in London, the second son of Benjamin Hanson, a fruit merchant and importer, and was educated at a private school in Melbourn,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. Admitted a solicitor in 1828, he practised briefly in London, becoming a disciple of

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) was an English politician in colonial Canada and New Zealand. He is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a ...

in connection with his colonization schemes. Hanson joined '' The Globe'' as a political critic early in 1837. In 1838 he went with Lord Durham to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as assistant commissioner of inquiry into crown lands and immigration. Hanson worked with

Dominick Daly Sir Dominick Daly (11 August 1798 – 19 February 1868) was a British colonial public servant and administrator during the 19th century, who held positions in British North America, History_of_Tobago, Tobago and South Australia. Born in I ...

in Canada. In January 1840, on the death of Lord Durham, Hanson settled in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, as Land Purchase Officer for the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...

. He was active in purchasing land in various parts of New Zealand. He also purchased the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

in 1840, which was not part of New Zealand at the time. He then became the first crown prosecutor in Wellington. He moved to the colony of South Australia in 1846 and immediately set up a legal practice. He served as Advocate-General and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

for the colony before election to the seat of

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defi ...

in 1857. In 1851 Hanson was appointed advocate-general of the colony, initially as a temporary replacement for the ailing William Smillie, made permanent when Smillie died. He took an active share in the passing of many important measures, such as the first Education Act, the District Councils Act of 1852, and the Act of 1856 which granted constitutional government to the colony. In 1856 he was attorney-general in the first ministry under

Boyle Travers Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first Premiers of South Australia, premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was Birth aboard aircraft and ships, born at ...

; becoming premier himself in 1857. Among the acts passed were the first patents act, an insolvency act, a partial consolidation of the criminal law, and the Torrens real property act, though he was at first opposed to this measure. He also passed an act legalizing marriage with a deceased wife's sister, the first of its kind in the Empire, but the royal assent was refused on this occasion. After leaving parliament, Hanson replaced Sir Charles Cooper as Chief Justice of the

in 1861. He was knighted in 1869 by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

when he visited England, and was acting

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-general of Aust ...

for 1872–73. In his spare time Hanson gave much time to theological studies. His publications include ''Law in Nature and Other Papers'' (1865), ''The Jesus of History'' (1869), ''Letters to and from Rome'' (1869), ''The Apostle Paul'', and the ''Preaching of Christianity in the Primitive Church (1875)''. He was elected the first Chancellor 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 ...

; the first vice-chancellor was

Augustus Short Augustus Short (11 June 1802 – 5 October 1883) was the first Anglicanism, Anglican bishop of Adelaide, South Australia. Early life and career Born at Bickham House, near Exeter, Devon, England, the third son of Charles Short, a London bar ...

. He died in Australia on 4 March 1876.

Personal life

Freemasonry was an integral part of Hanson's personal life. He was elected as a member and initiated into the Craft on 27 November 1834 in London when The Lodge of Friendship, a Lodge especially founded to become South Australia's first Lodge, held its very first meeting. Later he was to rise in position within the Lodge, which still exists to the present day, and ultimately served as its Master. His summer residence, Woodhouse, near Piccadilly, South Australia, is today owned by the South Australian Scout Association, and used for Scout leader training and private functions and accommodation; the extensive grounds are used for camping and outdoor adventuring. Richard's brother William Hanson (1810–1875) was an architect and engineer who played a decisive role in the early history of South Australia's railways and waterworks.

Family

Hanson married the widow Ann "Annie" Scanlon (perhaps Scanton), née Hopgood (died 1895) at his home,

Sturt Street, Adelaide Sturt Street is a street in the south-western sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs east–west between West Terrace to King William Street, passing through Whitmore Square. After crossing King William Street, it continue ...

, on 29 March 1851. Their eldest daughter Sarah Elizabeth "Lisa" Hanson (23 February 1853 – c. 15 January 1930) married barrister Eustace Beardoe Grundy QC at St Johns Church, Adelaide, on 6 July 1876.

Legacy

The following places in South Australia were named after him: *Hanson Street in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

named in 1837 and which was later subsumed by the expanded

Pulteney Street Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...

in 1967. *The cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Hanson 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standard SI prefix for a hundred is " hecto-". 100 is the b ...

created in 1860. *The cadastral unit of the County of Hanson created in 1877. *The town of

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler) or Ivar (born 1984), American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English ...

which was named in 1940 *The seat of

in 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 ...

which was created in 1970 and renamed to Ashford in 2002.

Notes

References

*
Hanson, Sir Richard Davies (1805 - 1876)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 336–340. Retrieved 20 January 2009 * *

External links

South Australian Parliament - Hanson
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Richard 1805 births 1876 deaths Attorneys-general of South Australia Premiers of South Australia Chief justices of South Australia Administrators of South Australia English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Knights Bachelor Chancellors of the University of Adelaide Colony of South Australia judges Politicians from the Colony of South Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia 19th-century Australian judges Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 1840s in New Zealand New Zealand lawyers