Matthew Moorhouse

Matthew Moorhouse (* 1813 in Great Britain , † March 29, 1876 in Bartagunyah near Melrose in South Australia , Australia ) was a general practitioner, civil servant and dairy farmer. He had studied medicine in London. He came to Australia in June 1839 and settled at Encounter Bay , where he was the first European to cultivate land.

He was named the first Protector of Aborigines in South Australia. As Protector of Aborigines he had to look after the land interests of the Aborigines, to monitor agreements between the settlers and Aborigines, to settle disputes or to bring legal violations to justice. Above all, he should also proselytize the Aborigines to Christianity. In the interests of the Aborigines sometimes came into conflict with the government and the colonists, which earned him the respect of the Aborigines and some settlers.

Moorhouse was a member of the Adelaide Philosophical Society and its vice president in 1853. He was also a senior member of the Literary Association as well as the Statistical Society and was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1841. In 1849 he campaigned for the construction of the railroad to Port Adelaide .

On January 4, 1842, he married Mary Ruth Kilner in Adelaide , with whom he had three children.

In 1856 Moorhouse returned to Great Britain, where he recruited immigrants to South Australia. After this activity he traveled through North America and examined the educational system there. When he returned to Australia, he abdicated as Protector and was elected to Adelaide City Council and the House of Assembly in 1860 and worked for the British Crown. In 1862 he resigned from his posts and became a dairy farmer.

After a serious illness, he died in 1876.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ adb.anu.edu.au : Australian Dictionary of Biography: Moorhouse, Matthew (1813–1876) , in English, accessed March 28, 2012