Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

 and the first resident South Australian to be knighted.

Early life and career

James Hurtle Fisher was born at Sunbury

Sunbury-on-Thames

Sunbury-on-Thames, also known as Sunbury, is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, England, and part of the London commuter belt. It is located 16 miles southwest of central London and bordered by Feltham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.-History:The earliest evidence of...

, then part of Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the eldest son of James and Henrietta Harriet Fisher. He was articled to London solicitors Brown and Gotobed and admitted to practice in July 1811. He married Elizabeth Johnson on 5 October 1813. He commenced practice as a solicitor in 1816.

Bound for South Australia

Fisher became a member of the South Australian Building Committee in September 1835; in November he was selected as resident commissioner. On 13 July 1836, he was formally appointed Registrar, and, on the next day, Resident Commissioner, under the South Australian Act. His role gave him the power to dispose of public lands in the new colony – the proceeds of the sale would be, following Wakefield's

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....

 plan, used to fund the emigration of workers to the colony. In power he was to be second only to the governor, with the added stipulation that his powers and those of the governor would be entirely separate.

In July 1836, Fisher and his family left England, accompanying the governor's party aboard the Buffalo. They arrived at Holdfast Bay on 28 December 1836, where the new settlement was proclaimed.

Disputes with Governor Hindmarsh

Fisher had been allowed to draft his own instructions — these were not shown to Governor Hindmarsh

John Hindmarsh

Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH RN was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.-Early life:...

. Disputes between the two men over their powers had begun aboard the Buffalo and were revived during sessions of the new Council of Government. In February 1837 the Resident Magistrate's Court bound the two to keep the peace towards each other. Disagreement also arose over the site of the city

Adelaide city centre

The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...

, which Hindmarsh wanted moved closer to the port

Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...

, and over the slow progress of the survey. Hindmarsh failed in his bid to move the city and the survey did progress. In March Fisher called a meeting of holders of land orders to select their town acres, and the remaining acres were auctioned soon after. Further controversy arose with encroachment of the governor's garden on public land. In August, Hindmarsh suspended Robert Gouger

Robert Gouger

Robert Gouger was one of the founders of South Australia and colonial secretary.-Early life:Gouger was the fifth son of nine children of George Gouger , who was a prosperous city merchant, and his wife Anne, née Sibley. Robert was educated at Nottingham, England, and on leaving school he entered...

 from his office of Colonial Secretary. John Brown, a servant of Fisher and not subject to the governor, was nevertheless also suspended on 11 September 1837. Fisher immediately issued a handbill stating that Brown still held office; Hindmarsh later issued a contradictory proclamation. Tit-for-tat accusations continued, with both parties communicating to London. In March 1838 Governor Hindmarsh was recalled to London, leaving Adelaide in July. This was no victory for Fisher, however: the new governor, George Gawler

George Gawler

-External links: – Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK...

, was given the combined powers of Governor and Resident Commissioner, effective on his arrival in October 1838.

Fisher returned to law and became a leader of the South Australian Bar.

Political life

In October 1840, Fisher was elected inaugural Mayor of Adelaide. He was again mayor from 1852-54. He was elected into the Legislative Council in 1853, becoming speaker (1855-56) and president (1857-65), after which he retired from politics.

In 1860 he was made Knight Bachelor

Knight Bachelor

The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

, becoming the first resident South Australian to be knighted.

Memorials

James Hurtle Fisher is commemorated in various ways:

• Hurtle Square, Adelaide
  Hurtle Square, Adelaide
  Hurtle Square is a public square in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the centre of the south-eastern quarter of the city, and surrounds the intersection of Halifax and Pulteney Streets. It was named by the Street Naming Committee after James Hurtle Fisher, South Australia's first...
  
   is named after him
• A memorial plaque exists at Trinity Church, of which he was one of the first trustees
• His portrait is preserved at Parliament House, Adelaide
  Parliament House, Adelaide
  Parliament House, on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road in Adelaide city centre, is the seat of the Parliament of South Australia. It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as "Old Parliament House"...
  
  

A memorial and plaque near the corner of North Terrace

North Terrace, Adelaide

North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of the city of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east-west, along the northern edge of the CBD.-North Side of North Terrace:...

 and West Terrace

West Terrace, Adelaide

West Terrace is a street in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the western-most street of the Adelaide city centre. It ends at North Terrace and South Terrace, and connects to Port Road and Anzac Highway....

, Adelaide, marks the approximate location of the Land and Survey offices and Fisher's and Colonel William Light's

William Light

Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...

huts, which were destroyed by fire in 1839.