# James Rowell

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{{Short description|English-born Australian politician, soldier and horticulturalist}}
{{about||the member of the South Carolina House of Representatives|J. Victor Rowell}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name             = James Rowell
| honorific_suffix = 
| image            = Senator James Rowell (cropped).jpg
| title            = [Senator](/source/Australian_Senate) for [South Australia](/source/South_Australia)
| term_start       = 24 May 1917
| term_end         = 30 June 1923
| predecessor      = [William Story](/source/William_Story_(Australian_politician))
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1851|1|20}}
| birth_place      = [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge), England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|1940|7|6|1851|1|20}}
| death_place      = [Lockleys, South Australia](/source/Lockleys%2C_South_Australia), Australia
| spouse           = {{marriage|Elizabeth Marchant|1874|1881|reason=died}}<br/>{{marriage|Zella Williams|1883|1938|reason=died}}
| party            = [Nationalist](/source/Nationalist_Party_of_Australia) (1917–22)<br/>[Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_(1922)) (1922–23)
| children         = 
| alma_mater       = 
| occupation       = Horticulturalist
| profession       = 
| signature        = 
| website          = 
| footnotes        = 
| allegiance       = [Australia](/source/Australia)
| branch           = [South Australian Military Force](/source/Colonial_forces_of_Australia)<br/>[Citizens Military Force](/source/Australian_Army_Reserve)
| service_years    = 1877–1910<br/>1915–1917
| rank             = [Colonel](/source/Colonel)
| servicenumber    = 
| unit             = 
| commands         = South Australian Brigade<br/>4th Imperial Bushmen
| battles          = [Second Boer War](/source/Second_Boer_War)<br/>[First World War](/source/First_World_War)
| mawards          = [Companion of the Order of the Bath](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)<br/>[Mentioned in Despatches](/source/Mentioned_in_Despatches)<br/>[Volunteer Officers' Decoration](/source/Volunteer_Officers'_Decoration)
| relations        = [Sydney Rowell](/source/Sydney_Rowell) (son)
| laterwork        =  
}}
[Colonel](/source/Colonel) '''James Rowell''' {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|CB|VD}} (20 January 1851 – 6 July 1940) was an Australian soldier and politician. He was a [Senator](/source/Australian_Senate) for [South Australia](/source/South_Australia) from 1917 to 1923, representing the [Nationalist Party](/source/Nationalist_Party_(Australia)). He was a long-serving officer in volunteer units, commanding a [South Australian colonial unit](/source/Colonial_forces_of_Australia) during the [second Boer War](/source/second_Boer_War) and later holding command in the [Citizen Military Forces](/source/Citizen_Military_Forces).

==Early life==
Rowell was born on 20 January 1851 in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge), England. He was the son of Susan ({{nee|Hall}}) and John Rowell. His father was a gardener at the time of his birth and later became a [smallholder](/source/smallholder).<ref name=adb>{{Cite web|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rowell-james-8283|title=Rowell, James (1851–1940)|first=S. F.|last=Rowell|volume=11|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|year=1988}}</ref>

Rowell and his family immigrated to South Australia in 1855. His father took up a property of {{convert|100|acre|ha}} at [Lockleys](/source/Lockleys%2C_South_Australia) and established an orchard and vineyard on [The Reedbeds](/source/The_Reedbeds). He attended the public school in [Fulham](/source/Fulham%2C_South_Australia), leaving school at a young age to assist his father and later inheriting a one-third share in the property.<ref name=adb/>

Rowell was a councillor of the [Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia](/source/Royal_Agricultural_and_Horticultural_Society_of_South_Australia) for nearly 50 years, including a term as president, and also served on the South Australian Board of Agriculture.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://biography.senate.gov.au/james-rowell/|title=Rowell, James (1851–1940)|work=The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate|first=Derek|last=Drinkwater|volume=1|publisher=Melbourne University Press|year=2000}}</ref> He was said to be "highly skilled in the horticultural field and did much to advance the interests of the primary producer in South Australia".<ref name=adb/>

==Military service==
In 1877, Rowell enlisted in South Australia's [Volunteer Military Forces](/source/Colonial_forces_of_Australia) as a member of the Reedbeds cavalry. He was subsequently commissioned as an officer in the [South Australian Mounted Rifles](/source/South_Australian_Mounted_Rifles), with the ranks of lieutenant (1880), captain (1881), major (1885), and lieutenant-colonel (1895). He represented South Australia at the [Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria](/source/Diamond_Jubilee_of_Queen_Victoria) in 1897.<ref name=adb/>

Rowell commanded the 4th South Australian Imperial Bushmen's Contingent during the [second Boer War](/source/second_Boer_War), which left Australia in May 1900 and returned in August 1901. He was promoted colonel and [mentioned in despatches](/source/mentioned_in_despatches) during the war, subsequently receiving appointment as a [Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) (CB) and the [Queen's South Africa Medal](/source/Queen's_South_Africa_Medal) with four clasps.<ref name=bio/>

After the [federation of the Australian colonies](/source/Federation_of_Australia), Rowell remained a high-ranking officer in the [Citizen Forces](/source/Militia_(Australia)), commanding the [10th Australian Infantry Regiment](/source/10th_Battalion_(Australia)) from 1904. During World War I he was recalled to active duty and from 1915 to 1917 made several journeys to Egypt and England on troop ships carrying [Australian Imperial Force](/source/First_Australian_Imperial_Force) units.<ref name=bio/>

==Politics==
Rowell was a member of the [West Torrens District Council](/source/City_of_West_Torrens) for sixteen years, including twelve as chairman, and served as president of the District Councils' Association and vice-president of the Local Government Association. He first stood for parliament at the [1910 South Australian state election](/source/1910_South_Australian_state_election), running unsuccessfully for the [Liberal Union](/source/Liberal_Union_(South_Australia)) in the seat of [Electoral district of Adelaide](/source/Electoral_district_of_Adelaide).<ref name=bio/>

At the [1917 federal election](/source/1917_Australian_federal_election), Rowell was elected to a six-year [Senate](/source/Australian_Senate) term on the [Nationalist Party](/source/Nationalist_Party_(Australia)) ticket in South Australia. His term was due to commence on 1 July 1917, but he began his term early on 24 May 1917 after being appointed to fill the [casual vacancy](/source/Casual_vacancies_in_the_Australian_Parliament) caused by the resignation of [William Story](/source/William_Story_(Australian_politician)). His term ended on 30 June 1923 following his defeat at the [1922 election](/source/1922_Australian_federal_election).<ref name=aph>{{cite news|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/parliamentarians/K3B|title=Rowell, James CB|work=Parliamentary Handbook|publisher=Parliament of Australia|access-date=24 April 2026}}</ref> 

In the Senate, Rowell spoke frequently on primary industry and matters relating to returned servicemen. He was a strong supporter of the ''Australian Soldiers' Repatriation Act 1917'', which gave generous assistance to returned soldiers, and unsuccessfully sought to extend the [war service home](/source/war_service_home)s scheme to veterans of the Boer War.<ref name=bio/> In 1918, Rowell was appointed to the Select Committee on the Effect of Intoxicating Liquor on Australian Soldiers.<ref name=aph/> He supported the majority position which opposed legislation to impose prohibition on the military.<ref name=bio/>

==Personal life==
In 1874, Rowell married Elizabeth Marchant, with whom he had two children. He was widowed in 1881 and re-married in 1883 to Zella Williams, with whom he had another five children. His son [Sydney](/source/Sydney_Rowell) became an army general and served as [chief of the general staff](/source/Chief_of_Army_(Australia)), while two other sons also saw active service.<ref name=adb/>

Rowell died at his home in Lockleys on 6 July 1940, aged 89.<ref name=bio/>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowell, James}}
Category:1851 births
Category:1940 deaths
Category:Australian Army officers
Category:Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War
Category:Australian military personnel of World War I
Category:Australian orchardists
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:English emigrants to colonial Australia
Category:Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Category:Members of the Australian Senate
Category:Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:People from Cambridge
Category:Liberal Party (1922) members of the Parliament of Australia

{{Australia-National-politician-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Rowell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rowell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Rowell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.