Premier of South Australia Chief Secretary of South Australia
What position did B. T. Finniss take from Oct 1856 to Mar 1857?
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 in what is now India from where he was sent to Greenwich , England , for his education . He later 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 Lights choice of the site of Adelaide and assisted in laying out the city ; his correspondence during the early years shows him to have been a man of good judgment 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 . He 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 he was appointed Colonial Secretary of South Australia , and in July 1853 had charge of the bill to provide for two chambers in the 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 . The bill of 1853 was rejected by the British government , and a new bill was brought forward in 1855 providing for two purely elective houses . This received the royal assent in 1856 . Finniss was elected 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 session , succeeded in passing measures to deal with waterworks for Adelaide and the first railway in South Australia . He was treasurer in the Richard Hanson ministry from June 1858 to May 1860 and at the new election in that year was , with John Dunn one of the representatives for Mount Barker . 1864 expedition to the Northern Territory . In 1864 the South Australian government , desiring to open up the 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 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 ) ; nor was he popular with the men , who had expected to spend time exploring and not as much on tedious duties such as keeping guard on the stores ; he 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 Finnisss absences , James Manton sent a party on horseback to recover stores which had been plundered by local Aboriginals . When approaching their camp , they were surrounded by spear-carrying warriors , who injured a horse and several men , William Pearson quite seriously . Fellow-riders Fred Litchfield and Dyer removed Pearson from the scene , and when a second party arrived on foot , the Aborigines scattered , but one man was shot dead by Alaric Ward . A month later the Aborigines mounted another raiding party , spearing several horses , which created a great deal of anger in the depot . Finniss put his son Frederick in charge of an armed party sent out to Chambers Bay ( some distant ) to assert some kind of order ( Finnisss 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 blacks fled their camp , but one unarmed old man named Dombey was shot in the back . Having recovered whatever property they could , the party then set fire to their dwellings . Returning to the depot , they were regaled 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 . 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 called before a Parliamentary Commission in May 1866 and answered his critics point by point , supported with a printed pamphlet , to the consternation of influential financier Frank Rymill , a major critic . Other interests . Finniss was on the board of at least one business , the Duryea Mining Company , where he was Chairman of Directors from 1862 . In 1860 he published a martial anthem The Gathering : A War Song of Australia , and a love song Canst thou not read the mute Appeal ? ; both set to music by Mrs . A . J . Murray . Late life . In 1875 , he 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 ; she 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 . Finnisss 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 . Audoens , 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 Matthews Church , Kensington , South Australia - Coraly Newton Maud Finniss ( 1884–1890 ) - Ethel Maude Mary Finnisss ( 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 , 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 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 came around 1856 . The township Queens Own Town was renamed Finniss in 1940 . External links . - SA Parliament – Finniss - Northern Territory History