George Fife Angas
George Fife Angas | |
---|---|
Member of the South Australian Legislative Council | |
In office 8 July 1851 – 28 August 1866 | |
Constituency | Barossa (1851–1857) The Province (1857–1866) |
Chairman of the South Australia Company | |
In office 9 October 1835 – April 1848 | |
Preceded by | office established |
Succeeded by | J. Russell Todd |
Personal details | |
Born | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | 1 May 1789
Died | 15 May 1879 Angaston, South Australia | (aged 90)
Spouse | Rosetta French |
Children | |
Occupation | coachbuilder, banker, politician |
George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia. He established the South Australian Company and was its founding chairman of the board of directors.
In later life he migrated to the colony and served as a member of the first South Australian Legislative Council.[1] His financial contribution of some £40,000 was instrumental to the creation of South Australia.
Early life
Angas was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, fifth son of coachbuilder and ship owner Caleb Angas of Newcastle (1743–1831) and his second wife Sarah Angas née Lindsay (1749–1802). After his mother's death, Angas continued his education at a boarding school and at age 15, became an apprentice coachbuilder under his father's direction. He started the Benevolent Society of Coachbuilders in Newcastle in 1807 "to provide for sick members and others requiring relief, and promote habits of economy and temperance".[2] In 1808, he went to London to gain further experience and returned to Newcastle in 1809 where he worked as a supervisor for his father's business.[2]
On 8 April 1812, in Hutton, Essex, he married Rosetta French (1793–1867), daughter of John French (1761–1829), "Gentleman of Hutton, Essex", and Rosetta French née Rayner (1756–1836). They had three sons and four daughters.[3]
- Rosetta French Angas (1813-1898)
- Sarah Lindsay Angas (1816-1898), Australian temperance worker
- Emma Angas (1818-1885), caught smallpox and died while nursing refugees in Beirut
- George French Angas (1822-1886), artist
- John Howard Angas (1823-1904), Australian pioneer, politician and philanthropist
- Mary Ann Angas (1826-1831)
- William Henry Angas (1832-1870)
Career
Over the next 20 years Angas took a large role in the family business in Newcastle, which also had branches in British ports, the
Angas came from a
In 1835, he held shares in the British American Land Company.[4]
South Australia
Angas had become relatively wealthy and was concerned with putting his money to the best use. He became interested in a proposed settlement in South Australia and in 1832 joined the committee of the
Angas was discouraged by the company's failure to get government support, but continued his involvement with the South Australian Association which was formed in 1834, with Robert Gouger as secretary.
During debates on the price of land Angas, who held the opposite view to
The
In recognition of his efforts in making New Zealand a British colony rather than a French colony, Angas was offered a
Angas was also a leading figure in attempting to establish and secure proper treatment of the
In 1836, Angas met with Pastor
News came that the British government had dishonoured drafts drawn by the Governor, George Gawler and that the colony was in danger of ruin. Angas appealed to the government, his efforts resulting in a loan to the colony and payment of the dishonoured drafts.
In 1842 Angas lectured extensively on South Australia and wrote a pamphlet, "Facts Illustrative of South Australia", which was widely distributed. Gawler, who had been recalled to England, suggested that Angas should settle in South Australia. In early 1843, his finances still troubled, he sent out his 19-year-old son
Slavery
According to Humphrey McQueen and Catherine Hall, the Angas family business supply chain included dealings with businesses in the Caribbean that used slaves.[5][6]
Angas is not recorded by the
The claims he collected were:[4]
- 5 October 1835, Honduras 231, 40 enslaved, £2176 17/3d.[10]
- 26 October 1835, Honduras 51, 12 enslaved, £685 15/1d.[11]
- 26 October 1835, Honduras 199, 35 enslaved, £1642 17/2d[12]
- 9 November 1835, Honduras 244, 34 enslaved, £2439 17/3d.[13]
On 12 June 1840, he was delegate number 196, one of eight representing Newcastle upon Tyne, at the World Anti-Slavery Convention.[14]
A commemorative newspaper article in The Advertiser (an Adelaide daily) in 1909 described how Angas sought to protect the poorer classes from oppression and endeavoured to help slaves who, he argued, were held in illegal bondage. In 1824, over 200 Indians were set free as a result of his efforts.[2]
Later life, death and legacy
Angas, by then almost 62, was met by his two sons and eldest daughter. His work on behalf of the colony was widely known and a few days later a public dinner was held in his honour. He found work, becoming elected as a member of the Legislative Council for the Barossa district and turned his attention towards education and other public interests. Being kept busy improved his health, and he was able to pay off his debts in short order.
Angas bought Merino sheep and cattle, employing out-of work migrants on his property. He returned to England from 1857 to September 1859 to settle matters in his father's estate. He continued parliamentary work and lobbied against South Australia being given responsibility for the administration of the Northern Territory. He resigned in 1866, feeling that he could not fully fulfil his role, and continued to contribute to schools, churches and charities. His wife of 55 years died in 1867.
In 1869 he published The History of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Sunday School Union, which was compiled by secretary
He recovered from a serious illness at 87 and died on 15 May 1879 at 90 years of age. He was survived by three sons, notably John Howard Angas and George French Angas, and three daughters.
- A grandson, James Angas Johnson (c. 1842 – 19 May 1902), generally referred to as J. Angas Johnson, was one of the founding trustees of the E. Angas Johnson (1873–1951), was City Health Officer of Adelaide, and a defender of his father's reputation.[17]
Angas' financial contribution of some £40,000 was instrumental to the creation of South Australia.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "George Fife Angas". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d "GEORGE FIFE ANGAS". The Advertiser. Vol. LII, no. 15, 914. South Australia. 19 October 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 22 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "George Fife Angas". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "George Fife Angas". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ McQueen, Humphrey. "Born free: wage-slaves and chattel-slaves". Honest History. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
This PDF is a slightly amended version of the author's chapter in Carolyn Collins & Paul Sendziuk (ed), Foundational Fictions in South Australian History, Wakefield Press, Adelaide, 2018, pp. 43-63
PDF - Taylor & Francis Online. (Full text can also be requested via Researchgate.)
- ^ a b Coventry, C.J. (22 March 2019). "Links in the Chain: British slavery, Victoria and South Australia". Before/Now. 1 (1): 27–46. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
The Legacies of British Slave-ownership database...reveals many people in these colonies as having been connected to slave money awarded as compensation by the Imperial Parliament in the 1830s.
- ISBN 9781925523799.
- ^ Daley, Paul (21 September 2018). "Colonial Australia's foundation is stained with the profits of British slavery". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Honduras 231". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "Honduras 51". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "Honduras 199". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "Honduras 244". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ The British and Foreign Anti-slavery Reporter, Volumes 1-3. 17 June 1840. p. 130.
- ^ Lawson was later (1866–1870) with the Register and in 1890 editor of the Financial Times. Lawson's successor as secretary to Angas was Henry Hussey, a fellow-religionist, who collected and selected documents for his proposed biography, eventually written by Edwin Hodder (1837–1904).
- The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. 44, no. 2, 283. South Australia. 24 May 1902. p. 35. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia. includes much family information
- The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXIV, no. 19, 681. South Australia. 10 December 1909. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Angas, George Fife". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- "Angas, George Fife (1789–1879)". ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- "The Confessional Lutheran Emigrations From Prussia And Saxony Around 1839", Westerhaus, Martin O.
- George Fife Angas, Father and Founder of South Australia, Edwin Hodder, Hodder and Stoughton, London MDCCCXCI
Further reading
- Mennell, Philip (1892). . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
- "Family album [manuscript] 1836-1886". National Library of Australia. 1836.
The album contains press cuttings concerning the Angas family, including obituaries of George Fife Angas, George French Angas and Henry Willmott, the laying of the foundation stone of the Bushmen's Club (1878) and the first and second reports of the South Australia Company (1836 and 1838).
- The State Library of South Australia holds "31 volumes, approximately 5,000 sheets, 2 plans, 1 photograph, 3 artworks, 5 electronic files (digital copies of letters), 2 wooden trunks ; 4.4 metres." relating to Angas. See description.