Thomas Bewes Strangways (23 July 1809 – 23 February 1859), generally called "Bewes Strangways" and "T. Bewes Strangways", was an explorer, early settler and

Colonial Secretary of South Australia The Chief Secretary of South Australia (since 1856) or Colonial Secretary of South Australia (1836–1856) was a key role in the governance of the Colony of South Australia (1836–1900) and State of South Australia (from 1901) until it was abolish ...

. Strangways was the second son of Henry Bull Strangways of

Shapwick, Somerset Shapwick is a village on the Polden Hills overlooking the Somerset Moors, in Somerset, England. It is situated to the west of Glastonbury. History Shapwick is the site of one end of the Sweet Track, a 6,000-year-old, ancient, wooden causew ...

, England, and Elizabeth Bewes, sister of Thomas Bewes, MP for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. He and his brother Giles E. Strangways arrived in the new colony on with

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Coni ...

and he was engaged to one of Hindmarsh's daughters. However, they never married and Strangways later married Lavinia Albina ''née'' Fowler (c. 1810 – 22 October 1883). He sat on the

Street Naming Committee The Street Naming Committee was a committee established to decide on names for the streets of the new city of Adelaide in the colony of South Australia in 1837. Description The Street Naming Committee was set up to decide the names of the streets ...

, where

Strangways Terrace Strangways Terrace is a street in North Adelaide, South Australia. It is the southwestern boundary between the built environment and the Adelaide parklands including the Adelaide Golf Links. Strangways Terrace is named after Thomas Bewes Str ...

, located in

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 ...

was named after him. In November 1837, Strangways, Young Bingham Hutchinson, and a party explored the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...

and Lake Alexandrina region, searching for other outlets to the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

. In the process, they "discovered" Currency Creek, which they named after the whale boat they were using, the ''Currency Lass''. He was the uncle of future

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 ...

Henry Strangways Henry Bull Templer Strangways (14 November 1832 – 10 February 1920) was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia. Strangways was the eldest son of Henry Bull Strangways Jr. of Shapwick, Somerset, England, and his first wife, ...

. Giles E. Strangways, (an associate of

John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher and jurist specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is an original interpreter of Aristotle and Aquinas, and counts Germain Grisez as a major inf ...

and

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European land exploration of Australia, European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the ...

in their pioneering cattle drive of 1838), was his younger brother. Strangways was 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 ...

and Colonial Secretary from 22 August 1837 to 12 July 1838. Strangways died in

Glenelg, South Australia Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of ...

or St. Leonard's on 23 February 1859, aged 49. His widow, an invalid, went to live with

, then with Mrs. B Clark at Childers Street, North Adelaide in an arrangement which has the appearance of protective custody. In 1865 her nephew, Mr. C Fowler, a Miss Fowler, and a sister-in-law Mrs Lorimer, sought a writ of ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' against them, claiming that her family and friends had been denied access to her. As a result, Mrs Strangways was taken in Rounsevell's carriage to Mr Fowler's home "Elderslie" at Woodside, where she died some eighteen years later.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Strangways, Thomas Bewes 1809 births 1859 deaths Settlers of South Australia Explorers of South Australia Members of the South Australian Legislative Council People from Sedgemoor (district) 19th-century Australian politicians Thomas Bewes