# John Riddoch

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{{Short description|Australian politician (1827–1901)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
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'''John Riddoch''' (27 October 1827 – 15 July 1901) was a pastoralist and politician in the State of [South Australia](/source/South_Australia), brother and business partner of [George Riddoch](/source/George_Riddoch).

==History==
Riddoch was born at [Turriff](/source/Turriff), in [Aberdeenshire](/source/Aberdeenshire), Scotland, and arrived in Victoria with his parents and family in 1851, settling in [Newtown](/source/Newtown%2C_Victoria), [Geelong](/source/Geelong). He left for the [Ovens River](/source/Ovens_River) goldfields and was quite successful. He returned to Geelong and set himself up as a storekeeper and wine merchant. In 1861 he purchased Yallum Park Estate, a sheep and cattle station near [Penola](/source/Penola%2C_South_Australia).<ref name=adb>Leith G. MacGillivray, [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/riddoch-john-8210/text14365 'Riddoch, John (1827–1901)'], ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 25 October 2014</ref> He founded the Coonawarra fruit colony there, and built a grand residence; he was noted for his hospitality.

In partnership with his brother, he bought up extensive tracts of land in the South-East of South Australia; by 1891 they owned {{convert|75,000|acres|ha}} of pasture and farmland. Their greatest asset, [Glencoe](/source/Glencoe%2C_South_Australia) station, founded by [Robert Leake](/source/Robert_Leake_(Australian_politician)) and his brother Edward, covered {{convert|53,000|acres|ha}}, and carried 53,000 sheep, 3,500 cattle and 300 horses and featured a magnificent woolshed now held by the National Trust.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa/glencoe-woolshed|title=Glencoe woolshed|publisher=National Trust of Australia|access-date=5 April 2015}}</ref> When the Riddoch brothers dissolved their partnership in 1898, John took the southern end and broke it up for closer settlement; George named his portion "Koorine".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://glencoeprogress.info/pics%202.htm|title=Photo gallery|publisher=Glencoe Progress Association|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-date=11 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411184158/http://glencoeprogress.info/pics%202.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Politics==
John was elected to the [district of Victoria](/source/Electoral_district_of_Victoria) in the [House of Assembly](/source/South_Australian_House_of_Assembly), and served from March 1865 to April 1870 with [Adam Lindsay Gordon](/source/Adam_Lindsay_Gordon) followed by [James Umpherston](/source/James_Umpherston) then [Henry Kent Hughes](/source/Henry_Kent_Hughes) as colleagues, and from December 1871 to April 1873 with [Edwin Derrington](/source/Edwin_Derrington).<ref name="SA parl">{{Cite SA-parl |pid=3823 |name=John Riddoch |former=yes |access-date=9 December 2022}}</ref>

His brother George followed him as a member of the House of Assembly for the District of Victoria in 1893, and served a three-year term. In 1901 he was returned to the [Legislative Council](/source/South_Australian_Legislative_Council) as a representative of the Southern District, and retired  at the end of 1909.

==Other interests==
He was a good friend of the poet [Adam Lindsay Gordon](/source/Adam_Lindsay_Gordon), who was a frequent guest at Yallum, and there wrote arguably his most famous poem ''[The Sick Stockrider](/source/The_Sick_Stockrider_(poem))''.<ref name=adb/> John and his brother were members of the [Adelaide Club](/source/Adelaide_Club). He was the first chairman of the  Penola District Council and a great supporter of the Penola Agricultural and Horticultural Society. He was an elder of the local Presbyterian Church.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4847738 |title=The Late Mr. J. Riddoch |newspaper=[The Advertiser](/source/The_Advertiser_(Adelaide)) |date=16 July 1901 |access-date=25 October 2014 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref> He endowed the Mount Gambier Art Gallery, and presented them with his portrait, painted by [Tennyson Cole](/source/Tennyson_Cole).<ref name=adb/>

==Family==
He married Eliza or Elizabeth King ( – 2 October 1881)<!--adb has her surviving him--> on 12 May 1854; he was survived by a son, John Alexander Riddoch of Katnook, and three daughters.

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddoch, John}}
Category:Australian pastoralists
Category:Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
Category:1827 births
Category:1901 deaths
Category:Adelaide Club
Category:19th-century Australian politicians
Category:19th-century Australian businesspeople
Category:Members of the South Australian Legislative Council

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