Thomas Hogarth

Thomas was born in the Parish of Killwigan and Shire of Ayr Scotland, 6th September, 1815.   After leaving school he served for 12 months with a grocer, and then proceeded to Ireland, with the intention of taking a position as a land steward.  He stayed there for a few months, and then returned to Scotland, and was engaged in a drapery business in Glasgow for a time.  He then left the Old Country on account of the Reform Bill in 1839, and sailed by the ship "Delhi," which vessel was under the command of Captain Herbert. He was accompanied by his brother, who died shortly after their arrival in the Colony.

He followed various occupations for some time, and at last he took up land at Black Forest and began the occupation of farming. He then (in conjunction with Mr. Smith) leased the Black Forest Flour Mill, and after this again embarked in the business of contracting, and came up to the Gawler Plains in 1850, becoming one of the first settlers in that part.   He took up a section of land, which he has increased to 1,100 acres, all freehold, having paid as much as 15 an acre for some of it. He uses this land now for pasturage, though at one time he had a large portion of it under cultivation, and has grown as high an average as 20 bushels of grain to the acre on it.

His property was known as Blair Place.  (Another property known as Blair owned by Thomas stands on section 4159, the original homestead still stands at 10 Pinehurst Close, Craigmore).

He has also an interest in a large squatting property at Strangway's Springs, which his son is now managing. This property has an area of 6000 square miles, and on this he "runs " about 5000 head of cattle and 1500 horses, and a large number of sheep.

He was connected with the first Agricultural Society inaugurated in the Colony, being one of its Committee, and held a seat in the Upper House of the Legislature for 19 years.   He was a leading member of the Gawler Agricultural Society and Farmers Club.

Mr. Hogarth retired from all active duties some five years ago, and lives within the privacy of a home life. He held the responsible position as one of the jurors at the Melbourne Exhibition, representing this Colony. He made the first Threshing Machine and the second Reaping Machine in the Colony, and has since made many valuable improvements in the latter. Mr. Hogarth was married in 1842 to Miss Jane Smith, the daughter of a well known and highly respected South Australian Colonist, and has in family five sons and three daughters.

He passed away at his resident on 1 September 1893 aged nearly 80 years.

Extracts from the Original grants book show that Hogarth owned;

Section 4151 (77 acres) Thomas Hogarth of Black Forest  £140 per section purchased 27 March 1850
Section 4152 (80 acres) Thomas Hogarth of Black Forest  £180.1per section purchased 27 March 1850
Section 4155 (83 acres) Thomas Hogarth of Black Forest  £83 per section purchased 21 July  1851.

Blair Place was built of local stone in 1849.  The original part of the homestead were three rooms at the back with a separate kitchen.  The homestead had two big attic rooms upstairs with a staircase in the lobby next to the dining room.   

The Hogarth family left Blair Place in August 1920. Then owned by Brown then Frith.  The building was damaged by vandals and demolished in 1976/77.