Richard Henry Hart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Business man, teacher
Richard Henry Hart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1862 Ballarat East |
| Died | 1884 (aged 21–22) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Elected fourth Chief President of the Australian Natives' Association, a love of Music |
Richard Henry Hart (1862–1884) was a school teacher, school owner and Chief President of the Australian Natives' Association (ANA).
Richard Henry Hart was born in 1862 in Ballarat East, the eldest son of Grace Tresidder and the Reverend Richard Hart, a Methodist minister.[1] Early in his life Hart was handicapped by ill health and the resulting lack of continuity of his education.[2] Given the opportunity he attended Wesley College he studied diligently and became the first pupil at the college to pass the Melbourne University Matriculation examination.[2] He followed his father in being a fine public speaker from an early age; he was also a talented young musician and school teacher. He trained as a teacher at his old school.
His issues with ill health caused him to move to a warmer climate, so he moved to Stawell.
In 1883 Richard Henry Hart married Elizabeth Matthews; he was 21 and she was 19 years of age.[3]
Community
About 1880 Hart established the Ellerslie Ladies' School. He ran the school with the assistance of his parents, his wife and employees.[4] There is an intriguing public apology from Mr Charles Dumorguo for apparently impugning the Character of Hart and his school. The apology is published twice on successive days in the Melbourne Argus newspaper.[5] He was an active member of the local Masonic Lodge in Stawell and a founding member of the local ANA Branch.[6]
In the 1883 he stood for Parliament as a radical,[7] and came near to defeating the sitting member.[8]
In 1882–83 he set up a music school in Ballarat. He organised a musical Cantata "The Flower Queen" with funds to go to the ANA Ballarat branch building fund. Forty ex-pupils form his Stawell school volunteered to assist with the performance. There were over 1,000 people in the audience at Ballarat's Alfred Hall.[2]
The Creswick grand concert on 31 October 1883 was attended through the ANA with his assistance. The next day, 1 November 1883, the Stawell conference he organised for the Cricket Club occurred. He went home suffering from peritonitis.[2]
