Frederick Hannaford

Frederick Hannaford

After the death of his father, ten year old Frederick came to South Australia from Totness, with his mother Susannah, brothers Richard, George and John Elliot and sister Elizabeth Joan on the barque Brightman. They left Plymouth on 15 August and arrived at Glenelg in South Australia on 13 December 1840. His younger brother William remained behind to complete his education and followed them later. Initially the family went to Unley where Frederick Hannaford was employed shepherding cows.

From here they moved to Cudlee Creek working the Hatchland Estate. Now Frederick and his brother John started buying land and developed the Mount Bera Estate. In 1851 Frederick married Elizabeth Saunders in the Kenton Valley Baptist Church. One of the hardest workers to have this built was the Rev. John Parker Buttfield. Two years later Frederick and John bought more land near Riverton where they moved to with their mother. Frederick’s first son Elliott was born at Riverton in 1856. Their mother died on 7 April 1861, aged 71 and was buried at the Riverton Cemetery. The two brothers soon became the owners of a farm, flourmill, shop and hotel.

In 1866 Frederick bought out John’s interest in Mount Bera and later lived with his family on that property, which he now developed as an orchard. John stayed at Riverton with his sister until her marriage to Robert Townsend. After her marriage Elizabeth and Robert settled at Birdwood. Meanwhile George and Richard had been droving and William, after his arrival, took up land near Callington.

Apart from his interests in land and agriculture Frederick was a pioneer member of the Board of Directors of the Lobethal Tweed Factory, a JP, land agent, with offices in Adelaide and Gumeracha, investor in mines, mine owner and prospector. Later he became a Member of Parliament and Councillor of the Talunga District, including eight as Chairman.

Frederick Hannaford had staked out several promising mining claims in 1870 near Blumberg, (today’s Birdwood) named by Johann Gottlob after his small village in Prussia. To develop these claims Hannaford needed money and sold his interest to the Melbourne and Adelaide United Quartz Mining Company for £500 cash and 2,000 fully paid up shares of £2 each. The remaining 4,000 shares were to be sold to the general public.

The South Australian promoters of the company were, apart from Hannaford, Sir John Morphett, J.B. Neales, J.R. Randell and S. Randell. The Victorians among the promoters were all members of parliament. The prospectus naturally included the recommendation of Alfred J. Kightly, who with his 15 years experience in quartz mining and crushing, had been asked by the Victorians to look for suitable properties in South Australia for their investment.

Among some of the mines started in the Adelaide Hills was the Aurora Gold Mining Company, formed in 1873 to buy the claims from Frederick Hannaford for 4,000 fully paid up shares and a seat on the board of directors of the new company. Other directors were T.J.S. O’Halloran, L.M. Cullen, R. Cussen, J.C. Kaufmann and G. Mumme. By the end of May as many as 5,000 shares in the company had been taken up. It was expected that the remainder would be applied for in the country.

Frederick was one of the first to plant apple trees near his home, against the advice of his friends and neighbours, and eventually had forty acres of apples and did very well from them. In 1882 he became one of the original Trustees of the Cudlee Creek Methodist Church. Some of the other Trustees were his brother George and B. Tippett, son of John Tippett. Frederick died in 1898, aged 68 and George on 21 December 1903, aged 81. Both are buried at Cudlee Creek, as were many other members of the Hannaford families.

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