Notable South Australians/William Ranson Mortlock
William Ranson Mortlock,
A VERY old colonist and prominent pastoralist, died at Avenel House, Medindie, on May 10, 1884. He arrived in Australia in 1843, and, after visiting the adjacent colonies, bought a squatting property near Port Lincoln, where he settled for some years. He was also an extensive holder of land in the North. Mr. Mortlock first sat in Parliament in 1868, when he represented the Flinders district in that and the two remaining sessions. He was absent from the next Parliament, being on a visit to England, but on his return to the colony was again elected for the Flinders electorate. Shortly before his death, at the general election he was rejected by his old constituents, and in speaking at the subsequent formal declaration of the poll he was deeply affected by his defeat. Many of his friends sympathised with him, and took an opportunity of expressing their appreciation of his services. He was to have been banquetted at Port Lincoln, on May 28, 1884, but the invitation to the festival reached him just before he died. Mr. Mortlock was a native of Melbourne, England, where he was born in 1820. He was a man of liberal views, and regarded as a very useful member of the South Australian Parliament.