James Garden Ramsay

Australian politician

"J. G. Ramsay" redirects here. For the North Carolina politician, see James Graham Ramsay.

The Honourable

James Garden

Born| 1827

Edinburgh, Scotland

Died| 17 January 1890
Children| Robert Garden Ramsay

John James Garden Ramsay (1827 – 17 January 1890)[1][2]was an industrialist and politician in colonial South Australia.

## Biography

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### Personal life

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Ramsay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and served his apprenticeship as an engineer at the St. Rollox Ironworks in Glasgow, and came to South Australia in 1857, establishing four years later at Mount Barker an agricultural implement and machine manufactory, which represented the starting point of what later grew into the largest business of its kind in the colony.[2]

### Career

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Ramsay represented Mount Barker in the South Australian Legislative Assembly from 5 April 1870 (along with John Cheriton), and on 7 July 1880 was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council, for which he sat until of his death.[3] Ramsay was Commissioner of Public Works in the Henry Ayers Ministry from January to March 1872 and in the two John Cox Bray governments from June 1881 to June 1884. Ramsay was Chief Secretary under John Cox Bray from 23 April 1884 to 16 June 1884; and under Thomas Playford II from 11 June 1887 to 27 June 1889.[4]

In 1886 Ramsay received the Queen's permission to bear the style of The Honourable within the colony.[5]

On 20 January 1890, Ramsay died from injuries sustained when an oil lamp in a railway carriage in which he was travelling burst, showering him with burning kerosene.[2]

## Family

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James Garden Ramsay married Mary Elliot Robertson ( – 4 May 1876) in 1854. He married again, to Bertha Ellen Horwood (20 December 1854 – 22 November 1942) on 6 December 1883. Bertha was a daughter of Bendigo (originally Adelaide) industrialist Joel Horwood, jnr, (1832–1900).

His son Robert Garden Ramsay was a member of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition of 1891-1892.[6]

## References

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1. ^ "James Garden Ramsay grave monument details". Gravestone Photos. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
2. ^ a b c "Obituary". South Australian Register. Adelaide, S.A.: National Library of Australia. 20 January 1890. p. 2 Supplement. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
3. ^ "Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 - 2007" (PDF). Parliament of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
4. ^ "Hon. James Ramsay". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
5. ^ Mennell, Philip (1892). "Ramsay, Hon. John James Garden" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co - via Wikisource.
6. ^ "The Elder exploring party". Evening Journal. 22 April 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 9 May 2023 - via Trove.

Parliament of South Australia

Previous:
William Rogers |  Member of Parliament for Mount Barker
1870–1875
Served alongside:
John Cheriton, William West-Erskine | Succeeded by

Albert Landseer

Previous:
William West-Erskine |  Member of Parliament for Mount Barker
1876–1878
Served alongside:
Albert Landseer | Succeeded by

Francis Stokes

Political offices
Preceded by

John Carr

|  Commissioner of Public Works
1872  | Succeeded by

Wentworth Cavenagh

Preceded by

George Hawker

|  Commissioner of Public Works
1881–1884  | Succeeded by

David Bower

Previous:
John Bray |  Chief Secretary of South Australia
1884  | Succeeded by

John Colton

Previous:
David Murray |  Chief Secretary of South Australia
1887–1889  | Succeeded by

John Cockburn