John Richards (Australian politician)

John Richards (c. 1842 – 24 January 1913) was a politician in the colony of South Australia.

He was born in Helston, Cornwall and emigrated to South Australia, arriving on the Duke of Bedford in December 1848.[1]

He acquired a considerably knowledge of mining, particularly copper mining, and wrote on the subject for The Register, the London Mining Journal and other publications, and ran a successful business in the mining districts of Yorke's Peninsula. He also wrote eloquently and forcefully in defence of Graham Berry.[2]

He represented Wallaroo in the South Australian House of Assembly from February 1875 to April 1878.

He took to drink, and was jailed in 1882 for uttering a valueless cheque.[3]

He died at the Destitute Asylum, where he had been incarcerated since 1909.

Family

He married the eldest daughter of George Thomas Crutchett (c. 1825–1893), Moonta's first Town Clerk, and Susan Nichols Crutchett, née Withall (1820–1927). Their children included:

  • Herbert Stanley Richards married Katherine May "Tot" ( –6 July 1931), lived at 3 King Edward Avenue, Lower Mitcham

Was he related to Robert Stanley Richards (1885–1967), a later member for Wallaroo?

References
  1. The passenger manifest for the Duke of Bedford does not mention a family named Richards.
  2. "Mr. Berry and Victorian Politics". Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904). SA: National Library of Australia. 29 March 1879. p. 11. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  3. "Adelaide Gossip". The Narracoorte Herald (SA : 1875 - 1954). SA: National Library of Australia. 25 April 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
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