Joseph Barritt
Joseph Barritt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1816 Hazeleigh, near Maldon, Essex, England |
| Died | 1881-08-17 |
| Occupation(s) | Pastoralist, politician |
| Years active | c.1839–1863 |
| Known for | Pastoralism in South Australia, member of South Australian House of Assembly for Barossa |
Joseph Barritt (1816 – 17 August 1881) was a prominent pastoralist and political figure in the South Australian colony.
History
Born in Hazeleigh, near Maldon, Essex, Barritt migrated to South Australia aboard the Anna Robertson in 1839. He arrived with a letter of introduction to fellow Quaker John Barton Hack, whose farm he initially managed. Subsequently, he worked as a farmer for John Richardson before obtaining his own estates: "Woodlands" around 1856 and "Riverside" circa 1859, both situated within the Lyndoch Valley.
For a period, Barritt entered into a partnership with Walter Duffield overseeing a pastoral lease neighboring the Burra Special Survey.
He was actively involved with the Barossa East Council for numerous years and assumed the role of Chairman in 1859, following Thomas Sandland. The Barritt and Sandland families shared close ties through both matrimonial alliances and business ventures; notably, in 1888, the auctioneering company Morris, Sandland and Barritt evolved into Wilkinson, Dempsey and Sandland Ltd.
In November 1862, Barritt was elected to represent the Barossa seat in the House of Assembly, serving alongside Duffield. His tenure lasted just over a year before he retired due to rapidly worsening vision that led to near blindness. After his wife’s passing on 27 June 1881, Barritt himself died several months later.
Family
On 7 March 1843, Barritt married Mary Ann Harrison (c.1815 – 5 April 1848), marking the first Quaker wedding conducted in South Australia; she died during childbirth. He remarried on 12 May 1853 to Hanna Sophia May (c.1819 – 27 June 1881), daughter of noted Mount Barker Quaker Joseph May. Their offspring included:
- Joseph Earn Barritt (1843–1849), interred at the Friends Meeting House grounds in North Adelaide.
- Elizabeth Ann (1845–1923), who wed Benjamin Sanders.
- Charles (1847–1922), proprietor of Mallara station near Wentworth, NSW; married Jane McDonald.
- Lucy Maria (1855–1896), spouse of R. Cooper Sandland, former mayor of Jamestown.
- Walter (1856–1927), resident of "Highlands," Lyndoch; married Ellen Mary Capper.
- Ellen Mary (1858–1919), wife of Thomas Sandland.
- Edwin (1859–1940), an auctioneer based at "Riverside," Lyndoch; married Jessie Ann Williams; their daughter Josephine Margaret Barritt was an author who married architect Walter Hervey Bagot.
- Hannah Morris "Annie" (1861–1935), married Thomas Black Williams; lived at Blackwood and Eden Hills.
- Francis M.C. "Frank" (1863–1918), pastoralist owning Yattalunga station near Gawler; married Mary Charlotte Twigg; their son Francis Earn Barritt gained recognition in golf, tennis, and polo.
- Herbert Edward (1865–1934), dairy farmer at Yattalunga alongside his brother Francis.
- Edith Margaret (b.1867), resided in Mitcham.