# B. T. Finniss

Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857.

## Early life

Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in Madras, British India. He was sent to Greenwich, England, for his education, and then entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, placing first of sixteen candidates at the entrance examination. In 1825, he became an ensign in the 88th Regiment of Foot, was promoted lieutenant in 1827 to the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot, and then spent three years in Mauritius in the department of roads and bridges.

## Surveyor

In 1835, Finniss sold off his commission and, having been appointed assistant surveyor under surveyor-general Colonel William Light, arrived in South Australia in September 1836. He supported Light's choice of the site of Adelaide and assisted in laying out the city. His correspondence during those early years shows him to have been a man of good judgement and he was an able assistant during the surveys.
Finniss joined Light in a private surveying firm, Light, Finniss & Co. While in private enterprise, Light and Finniss surveyed several towns, including Glenelg and Gawler. Finniss also had several other business interests, but they eventually all failed, and he returned to the public service.

## Public service and political career

In 1839, Finniss was appointed deputy surveyor-general. In 1843, he became Commissioner of the South Australia Police and a police magistrate. In 1847, he was made Treasurer of South Australia and registrar general. In 1851, was nominated to the South Australian Legislative Council by the governor, Sir Henry Young.
In 1852, Finniss was appointed Colonial Secretary of South Australia and, in July 1853, had charge of the bill to provide for two chambers in the new South Australian parliament. In the interim between the departure of Governor Young in December 1854 and the arrival of Sir Richard Graves McDonnell in June 1855, Finniss acted as administrator of the colony. The bill of 1853 was rejected by the British government, and a new bill was drafted in 1855, providing for two purely elective houses. That received the royal assent in 1856.
Finniss was elected as one of the representatives for the city of Adelaide and became the first premier and Chief Secretary of South Australia. There were early difficulties between the two houses but Finniss, during the four months his ministry was in power, succeeded in passing measures to deal with waterworks for Adelaide and commence the first railway in South Australia. From June 1858 to May 1860, he was treasurer in the Richard Hanson ministry and, at the 1860 election, he was, with John Dunn, elected as one of the two representatives for Mount Barker.

### 1864 expedition to the Northern Territory

In 1864, the South Australian government, wanting to open up its Northern Territory, organised a survey party under Finniss, appointing him as the Government Resident of the Northern Territory and giving him instructions to examine the Adelaide River and the coastline to the west and east of it. Finniss chose a site, Escape Cliffs, near the mouth of the Adelaide River for the settlement, but his choice was much criticised. He had problems with the insubordination of his officers, who were jealous of the attention he paid to some of the lesser ranks (notably W. P. Auld and J. W. O. Bennett). He was not popular with the men either. They expected to spend time exploring and not on tedious duties such as keeping guard on the stores. Finniss had not secured adequate supplies for the expedition, and did not enjoy good relations with the local Aboriginal people.
On 9 August 1864, during one of Finniss's absences, James Manton sent a party on horseback to recover stores which had been plundered by Aboriginals. When approaching the Aboriginal camp, the party was surrounded by spear-carrying warriors, who injured a horse and several men. William Pearson was quite seriously wounded, and fellow-riders Fred Litchfield and Dyer removed him from the scene. When a second party arrived on foot, the tribesmen scattered, but one was shot dead by Alaric Ward.
A month later, the Aboriginal people mounted another raiding party, spearing several horses, which led to a great deal of anger in the depot. Finniss put his son Frederick in charge of an armed party sent out to Chambers Bay, about 8 miles (13 km) distant, to assert some kind of control (Finniss's instructions were not published). Dr. Francis Goldsmith, who, apart from his medical duties, had been appointed Protector of Aborigines, demanded a place in the party, but was ordered by Finniss to remain at the depot. The Aboriginal people fled their camp, but one unarmed old man, named as "Dombey", was shot in the back. Having recovered whatever property they could, the party then set fire to the dwellings of the Aboriginal people. Returning to the depot, they were hailed as conquering heroes and each treated to a tot of rum. On 20 September, Finniss appointed his son clerk-in-charge and accountant, in place of Ebenezer Ward, whom Finniss had suspended for disloyalty. Auld was charged with the murder of the "Dombey", but was acquitted.
In May 1865, a dissident party of seven men fled to Champion Bay, Western Australia, in a small boat dubbed the Forlorn Hope, and Finniss was eventually recalled. He was summoned before a Parliamentary Commission in May 1866 and answered his critics point by point, supported by a printed pamphlet, to the annoyance of influential financier Frank Rymill, a major critic.

## Other interests

Finniss was on the board of at least one business, the Duryea Mining Company, and was chairman of directors from 1862.
In 1860, he published a martial anthem The Gathering : A War Song of Australia, and a love song Can'st thou not read?, both set to music by Mrs. A. J. Murray.

## Late life

In 1875, Finniss was a member of the forest board and, in the following year, was acting auditor general. He retired from the government service in 1881 and spent his leisure in preparing an interesting but rambling Constitutional History of South Australia (1886). He died on 24 December 1893, aged 86, and is buried at the West Terrace Cemetery.

## Family

Finniss was twice married and left a widow, a son and two daughters. He married Anne Frances Rogerson on 13 August 1835, who died on 3 January 1858. On 3 May 1878, he married Sophia Florence Maud Lynch. His eldest daughter, Fanny Lipson Finniss (later Morgan), was the first European girl born in South Australia, on 31 December 1836 or 1 January 1837. Finniss's employee, James Hoare, was father of the first boy, on 7 November 1836.
Finniss married Anne Frances Rogerson (1819–1858) on 13 August 1835 at St. Audoen's, Dublin, Ireland
* Fanny Lipson Finniss (1837–1865) married Frederick George Morgan (1826–1900)
* Boyle Travers Nixon Finniss (1839–1853)
* Julia Howard Finnis (1840–1918)
* William Charles Maxwell Finniss (1842–1919)
* Emily Anne Finniss (1844–1929)
* Henry John Finniss (1845–1846)
* Frederick Robe Finniss (1847–1908) accompanied his father to Escape Cliffs in 1864
Married Sophia Florence Maud Lynch (1852–1925) 3 May 1878 at St Matthew's Church, Kensington, South Australia
* Coraly Newton Maud Finniss (1884–1890)
* Ethel Maude Mary Finniss (1890–1976)

## Legacy

The Finniss River in South Australia and Finniss River in the Northern Territory are both named after him, along with Finniss Springs in the Northern Territory, and the South Australian Electoral district of Finniss.
Finniss Street, in North Adelaide was one of the dozens of street names chosen by the Street Naming Committee in around 1840, to commemorate people of importance to the founding of Adelaide. Boyle Street and Finniss Street in the Adelaide suburbs of Marion and Oaklands Park were named in about 1856.
In 1940, Queen's Own Town, about 60km south of Adelaide, was renamed Finniss.