Henry Hampden Dutton
Henry Hampden Dutton (13 February 1879 – 15 June 1932), often referred to as Harry Dutton, was a South Australian pastoralist, remembered for in 1908 making the first automobile journey from
He was born in North Adelaide, the son of Henry Dutton, the "Squire of Anlaby" (1844 – 26 August 1914), and studied at St. Peter's College, Lancing College, Essex, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he rowed against Cambridge and graduated MA.
He was a keen motorist and in November 1907 attempted the trip to
Harry was a keen yachtsman. In late 1912 he was delivered of his latest acquisition, the 36.5 ft auxiliary yacht called Wyruna.[4] Wyruna was often docked at Victor Harbor or Kangaroo Island, often ferrying family members between houses owned at both locations.
He inherited the pastoral property "
In 1921 he and his wife motored from
His son, Geoffrey, described him in his autobiography as, "short, witty and jolly, with brown eyes in a genial round face, smoking cigarettes and cigars incessantly. He always wore a suit, with a waistcoat and white collar and tie. He loved the vulgarity of music-hall jokes and songs, and French ashtrays in the shape of a little wooden lavatory...."[9]
He and T. L. Browne purchased Corona Station in 1910, and sold it to Sidney Kidman in 1917. He sold his share in the station in 1926.[10]
Harry and Emily bought Kalymna House in the early 1920s to provide an Adelaide home for their sons, John and Richard, while they studied at St. Peter's College.
Motoring pursuits
Harry was a keen motorist and in November 1907 attempted the trip to
Aunger and Dutton did not aim to complete the 2,066-mile (3325km) journey quickly, rather to test the capabilities of the car and ascertain if a motor journey between Adelaide and Darwin was possible.[11]
Auger and Dutton left Adelaide on Monday, 25 November, 1907, at noon. The Advertiser wrote of the pair, "The hazardous undertaking shows that the two gentlemen have confidence in motor traction to surmount the difficulties of a journey, a large portion of which must necessarily be through roadless country. [T]he pluck and enterprise of the two gentleman will meet with a good deal of admiration, whatever the result of the experiment may be...the progress of the enterprising motorists will be watched with keen interest."[12]
The Laura Standard reported Dutton and Aunger passed through Herbert Street, Laura, on Monday afternoon, at a "rapid rate."[13] The journey north, they negotiated tough terrain and remained close to the Overland Telegraph Line.
On 28 November they passed through Leigh Creek, and the following day, 29 November, Murray and Harry had reached Hergott Springs (Maree) and reached Coward Springs four days later on 3 December.[14][15] At Coward Springs, they found the petrol tins sent ahead had burst and evaporated. With limited supplies, the Talbot was loaded onto a train to Oodnadatta to continue the journey from there.[16]
They arrived at Charlotte Waters, an Overland Telegraph Line station, on the afternoon of December 9. This was their first time in the Northern Territory.[17]
On 27 December, Dutton and Aunger telegraphed that "it is impossible to proceed further than Tennant Creek owing to heavy rains ahead."[18] The car was left at Tennant Creek, as the pair returned to Oodnadatta by pack horses, the plan being to reach Port Darwin after the wet season.[18][19]
Dutton and Aunger again left Adelaide on 30 June 1908 in a similar vehicle and were joined en route by Ernest Allchurch (c.1870–1932) the Telegraph Officer from Alice Springs. The three completed the journey on 20 August, having recovered the first Talbot on the way. The car and its steel-studied Michelin tyres were reported as having performed flawlessly.[3]
The Talbot named 'Overlander' was acquired by the National Motor Museum, Birdwood, South Australia, in 1977. It is kept in running condition. In 2008, the vehicle was taken on a 51-day tour retracing Harry and Murray's journey, and visiting 23 venues and 21 schools along the way.[20]
Family
Henry Hampden Dutton married Emily Martin, niece of James Martin MHA, MLC, on 29 November 1905; their children were;
- John Hansborough Dutton (23 August 1906 – )
- Richard Hampden Dutton (6 August 1909 – 13 December 1940) married Margaret Elizabeth Newland ( – ) on 25 February 1933
- Bryony Helen Carola Dutton (22 October 1918 – 2005) was engaged to William Weatherly (Flying Officer with 459 Squadron and later awarded DFC) in 1940 but married American soldier William Robert Curkeet on 24 August 1942. She returned to South Australia in 1945;[21] they divorced and she married distinguished lawyer Professor, later Sir, Richard Arthur "Dick" Blackburn OBE (26 July 1918 – 1 October 1987) on 1 December 1951.[22]They had two children:
- Charlotte Blackburn ( – ), later Calder
- Tom Blackburn SC( – )
- Geoffrey Piers Henry Dutton(2 August 1922 – 17 September 1998), a noted writer
References
- ^ a b "Overland Motor Trip". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 26 November 1907. p. 11. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Transcontinental Motorists". The Observer. Adelaide. 1 February 1908. p. 47. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Express and Telegraph. Adelaide. 21 August 1908. p. 4 Edition: 4 o'clock. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Wyruna – Classic Yacht Restoration | A site for the sailing yacht Wyruna". Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- OCLC 611293112.
- ^ "Dutton family papers" (PDF). State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Australia's Ice Age". Herald. 6 July 1921. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Central Australia". Chronicle. 9 August 1924. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- OCLC 31974964.
- OCLC 31974964.
- ^ a b c "Difficult Motor Trip". Register. 5 November 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Topics of the Day". Advertiser. 25 November 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "No title". Laura Standard. 28 November 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Stock Movements". The Chronicle (Adelaide). 7 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Latest Telegrams". Northern Territory Times and Gazette. 6 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "The Overlanding Motorists". Advertiser. 6 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "The ranscontinental Motorists". Chronicle. 14 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Downfall in South Australia". Kalgoorlie Western Argus. 31 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Brevities". Evening News. 28 December 1907. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- )
- ^ "Won U.S. Flying Licences". The News. Adelaide. 31 October 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 29 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Richard Refshauge, 'Blackburn, Sir Richard Arthur (Dick) (1918–1987)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blackburn-sir-richard-arthur-dick-114/text21909, published first in hardcopy 2007, accessed online 29 November 2015.