John Ainsworth Horrocks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Ainsworth Horrocks
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| Born | 22 March 1818 Preston, Lancashire, England
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| Died | 23 September 1846 (aged 28) |
| Occupation | Explorer of South Australia, Pastoralist |
John Ainsworth Horrocks (born March 22, 1818 – died September 23, 1846) was an English pastoralist and explorer. A pastoralist is someone who raises livestock like sheep or cattle on a large farm. He was one of the first European settlers in the Clare Valley area of South Australia. In 1840, he started the village of Penwortham there.
About John Horrocks
John Horrocks was born on Easter Sunday, March 22, 1818. His family lived at Penwortham Lodge, near Preston, Lancashire, in England. His father, Peter Horrocks, was an investor in a group called the Secondary Towns Association. This group wanted to build new towns in the colony of South Australia.
In March 1839, when he was 21, John Horrocks arrived in Adelaide, Australia. His younger brother, Eustace, who was 16, came with him. They were keen to find their own land. On January 16, 1840, the brothers set up camp in what is now Penwortham. They founded this village and gave it its name.
John Horrocks went back to England in 1842 after his father passed away. He returned to Australia in 1844 to sort out some money matters.
His Last Expedition
On July 29, 1846, John Horrocks began an expedition to explore the far north-west of South Australia. He hoped to find good land for farming near some distant hills by Lake Torrens.
His second-in-command was John Henry Theakston, a surveyor. An artist and plant expert named Samuel Thomas Gill also joined the group without pay. Other helpers included Bernard Kilcoy, who was the cook, and Jimmy Moorhouse, a young Aboriginal employee from Horrocks's farm. The group also had a camel named Harry. This camel was special because it was the first camel to arrive in Australia.
On September 1, near Lake Dutton, something unexpected happened. John Horrocks was accidentally shot while reloading his shotgun. The gun went off when it was bumped by the pack on Harry the camel, who was kneeling. Horrocks was badly hurt. He lost a finger on his right hand and some teeth.
Because of the accident, the expedition had to stop. The group returned to Horrocks's home at Penwortham. John Horrocks sadly died from his injuries on September 23, 1846. He had ordered that the camel, Harry, be shot because it had attacked other animals and people before.
John Horrocks is buried at St. Mark's Anglican Church. He had given the land for this church to the town earlier.
John Horrocks's Legacy
Even though John Horrocks's expedition did not reach its goal, his close friend John Jackson Oakden achieved it in 1851.
John Horrocks gave his name to several places in South Australia. These include Horrocks Pass near Mount Remarkable and Mount Horrocks near Clare. In 2011, a long road from Gawler to Wilmington and then to Quorn was renamed Horrocks Highway in his honor.
See also
- Horrocks Highway
