Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/479

ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 453 The late Mr. Alexander Hay BY the death of Mr. Alexander Hay, South Australia lost one of those sturdy pioneers of sterling merit who have helped to build up the Greater Britain beyond the seas. What the Pilgrim Fathers did for America, the pioneers from Britain have done for Australasia. Their mental and bodily vigor laid the strong and c;nduring foundations of a nation, which they have bequeathed as an heirloom to their sons to ext(;nd and embellish. The late Mr. Alexander Hay was born in Dumfermline, Scot- land, in 1820, and came to South Australia in 1839. In him there was a str<ing blend of those persistent and enduring .Scotch characteristics that have made its sons famous in the annals of British enterprise and colonisa- tion. The dogged tenacity, the unwavering resolve, the capacity for thrift and perseverance, were inherent in his character, and conduced to the furtherance of himself and the promotion of others. For some time subsequent to his arrival in the Province, which occurred only three years after the foundation of South Australia, Mr. Hay sojourned in the Gumeracha district, where he engaged in varioLis pursuits con- nected with settlement on the virgin soil of the new country. Land settlement and agricultural occupations comprised at this early period the main indiistry of the Province, and devotion to these or their accessories was almost the only means of winning a competence —or even ensuring bare subsistence. Moving later to Linden, near Adelaide, Mr. Hay engaged in general business. Simultaneously with commercial avocations, he extensively followed pastoral and agricultural pursuits ; and his reputation as a competent business man was proved by the able manner in which he successfully supervised and managed his diverse interests. He took a step in a new direction when, on the death of Mr. John Stephens, proprietor of the Register and Obsei'ver newspapers, he formed one of a syndicate of seven gentlemen Debenham, Photo