Alexander Hay (South Australian politician)
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Alexander Hay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| South Australian Commissioner of Public Works | |
| In office 9 May 1860 – 8 October 1861 | |
| Premier | Thomas Reynolds |
| Preceded by | Arthur Blyth |
| Succeeded by | Philip Santo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 January 1820 |
| Died | 4 February 1898 (aged 78) |
| Spouse(s) | Agnes Kelly (1845-1870) Agnes Gosse (1872-1898) |
| Occupation | Merchant, pastoralist, politician |
Alexander Hay (12 January 1820 – 4 February 1898) was a South Australian merchant, pastoralist and politician.[1]
Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, as a young man he gained free passage to South Australia when working as a "wharfer", arriving in May 1839. After working for only two years for the South Australia Company, he could afford to purchase his own land to farm at Gumeracha. He soon acquired or invested in extensive pastoral land holdings throughout south-eastern Australia. He opened a grocery and hardware store on Rundle Street in the Adelaide city centre, specialising in supplying tools and equipment to the new copper mines and the booming building industry. He also became a proprietor of the newspaper the South Australian Register, a director of two insurance companies, two banks, a gas company and a wharf company. He served as vice-president of the Adelaide Zoo, president of the YMCA, an Adelaide City Councillor. He founded the Caledonian Society of South Australia, and was its Chief 1881–1883. He was married to Agnes Kelly in Adelaide in 1845, with whom he had eight children (only four survived to adulthood, a son and three daughters).[1][2]
Political career
In 1857, Hay was elected to the district of Gumeracha in the South Australian House of Assembly.[3] He almost became Premier in 1868, after a collapse in support from farmers resulted in the dissolution of the existing ministry. The Governor invited Hay, as the leader of the liberal land reformers and the only candidate with a clear policy, to form a ministry, but Hay refused. He was asked again the following month, and accepted but was unsuccessful in securing sufficient support.[1]
Except for a five-year break between 1861 and 1866 during which he took his family on a trip to England and had his Beaumont home, "Linden", rebuilt, he served the Parliament until 1890, being elected to the Legislative Council in 1873[4] and again in 1882.[5]
He is remembered for his commonsense, his support of industry, farmers, and young entrepreneurs, and his steadfast support of free primary education. He is particularly noteworthy for his role as proposer and chairman of the Select Committee on Education in 1868, which recommended a secular and compulsory system (which became law seven years later).[1] He was also a noted supporter of an Adelaide to Darwin railway.[1][2]
Agnes Hay died in 1870 and was buried in West Terrace Cemetery. Hay married Agnes Grant Gosse in 1872, with whom he soon had four more children.
Later life
Hay began building a summer residence at Victor Harbor in 1879. In 1881, the Mount Breckan mansion, one of the largest residences in Australia at that time, was completed.[6]
Hay died at Mount Breckan in January 1898. A memorial window in St. Augustine's Church, Victor Harbor, was erected in his memory.[7]
