Ebenezer Cooke (politician)
Encyclopedia
Ebenezer Cooke was a South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n accountant, Member of Parliament and Commissioner of Audit.
He was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where his eldest brother, the Rev. John Cooke, was a noted Egyptologist and co-founder of The Freeman, a Baptist weekly newspaper.
Accountant
In 1863 Ebenezer Cooke was sent out to the colony of South Australia by the English and Australian Copper Company as accountant for their smelting works in St. Vincent Street, Port Adelaide. He took on role of superintendent then (on the death of general manager James Hamilton in 1871) was officially appointed to that position, which he held until "headhunted"Recruiter
A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment, or the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within a corporation, nonprofit organization, sports team, the military, etc. Recruiters may work within an organization's human resources department or on an outsourced basis...
by the Public Service in 1882. He was replaced by Frederick Ireland who, like Cooke, was promoted from the post of Accountant.
Politics
On 1 March 1875 he was elected to the House of Assembly as member for Flinders, encompassing northern towns such as Port AugustaPort Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
and Port Pirie
Port Pirie, South Australia
-Transport:Port Pirie is located off National Highway One. It is serviced by an airport five minutes out of the city.- Railways :The first railways in Port Pirie were of the narrow [3' 6"] gauge....
with colleagues P. B. Coglin and John Williams. In 1878 he was re-elected for the same district, with W. R. Mortlock taking the place of Williams. In 1881 Cooke was once more successful, his fellow-members being Mortlock and A. Tennant.
- "During these years Mr. Cooke was a most regular attendant in the House, and he developed a reputation as an analyst of budget speeches. He was not fond of debating ordinary subjects, but when matters were before the House in which financial questions were involved Mr. Cooke was listened to with the utmost attention by all parties, because he used to study his subjects so fully and seemed to be able to fathom every point involved. His attention to detail became almost wearisome at times, but it all went to prove the true value of the man as a student of financial subjects."
On 31 July 1879 he was appointed chairman of the Royal Commission on Finance, which ran for nearly three years. The Commission's final report, dated 2 May 1882, recommended the creation of an Audit Office with two Commissioners of Audit. These recommendations were accepted with Cooke and Alfred Heath appointed to the top jobs. This necessitated his retirement from parliament; he resigned on 24 October 1882, though he did retain the position of attorney for the English and Australian Copper Company and directorship of the related English Copper Company.
Government Auditor
He took up the post in February 1883. He and Heath (who had been appointed to counterbalance Cooke's suspected political loyalties) worked harmoniously and efficiently, but when Heath retired (or was relieved of his position), Cooke continued in the role alone with no obvious reduction in the Office's effectiveness. He- "possessed uncommon gifts as a mathematician, a vein of dry humour, he was well informed on all current topics, with a particularly good knowledge of the political history of the State and of Australia centrally and, tbough he at one time took a prominent part in public affairs, and discussed with avidity questioned before Parliament, after his induction to the control of the Audit Office he 'knew no politics'"
Under his leadership, the Audit Office evolved from an investigative body to a powerful arm of Government, giving advice, and to some extent control, outside its original remit.
He supported the formation of the Public Service Association in 1884, and was its first president.
Family
He was the brother of Rev. J. Hunt Cooke of Richmond, Surrey.He married Eliza Peyton (née Ogden) (ca.1833 – 16 April 1865) in London in 1859. Their children were
- Mary (ca.1860 – 21 June 1944), who was appointed deaconess and worked for 33 years as a missionary sister in India for the Cambridge Society for the Propagation of tbe GospelUSPGThe USPG or United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel is a 300-year-old Anglican missionary organization, formed originally as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1701...
- E(benezer) Frank Cooke (– 6 July 1924) was educated at Mr. Martin's school at Port Adelaide, Thomas CatererThomas CatererThomas Caterer was a pioneer schoolteacher of Adelaide, South Australia who founded in 1862 a private school for boys which in 1866 became Norwood Grammar School....
's Norwood Grammar School and St. Peter's College was accountant for Henry Scott, followed his father as accountant and acting manager of the English and Australian Copper Company, then for the Chaffey BrothersWilliam ChaffeyWilliam Benjamin Chaffey was a Canadian engineer and irrigation planner who with his older brother George Chaffey developed what became the cities of Etiwanda, Ontario, and Upland in California, United States of America; and the city of Mildura, Victoria, Australia, as well as the town of Renmark,...
. He briefly worked in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales before settling down in Camberwell, VictoriaCamberwell, VictoriaCamberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637....
, working for H. C. Stezl, shipping agents of Melbourne. He married Ada Grace Rosetta Collins of BendigoBendigo, VictoriaBendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
on 8 March 1893 and had two daughters. He was a keen mathematician and the author of The A.B.C. Perpetual Calendar (1920).
- W(illiam) Ernest CookeWilliam Ernest CookeWilliam Ernest Cooke , generally referred to as "W. Ernest Cooke" or informally "Ernest Cooke", was an Australian astronomer, credited with a number of important scientific breakthroughs and improved methodologies in astronomical observations and star cataloguing...
(25 July 1863 – 1947) was educated at Thomas CatererThomas CatererThomas Caterer was a pioneer schoolteacher of Adelaide, South Australia who founded in 1862 a private school for boys which in 1866 became Norwood Grammar School....
's Norwood Grammar School and admitted to Adelaide University under-age, won the South Australian scholarship of £200 in 1882 and on graduating was assistant to Sir Charles Todd, assistant Government Astronomer for South Australia, then from 1896 Government Astronomer of Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
(where he founded the new Observatory) until he was offered a similar post in Sydney. He was frustrated by the advent of World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in his ambition to make this a world-class facility, and retired to South Australia in 1920. He was a Fellow of the Theosophical Society. He married Jessie Elizabeth Greayer (died 1944) at the Unitarian Church, Wakefield Street, Adelaide on 30 June 1887.
After the death of his wife, he married Rosa Phillipps, a sister of W. Herbert Phillipps on 8 May 1866. Their children were
- J(ohn) Herbert Cooke (3 August 1867 – 30 July 1943) was educated at Frederick Caterer's Glenelg Grammar School, Norwood Commercial College and St. Peter's College, where he was Science Prizeman in 1883. worked at the Railways workshops, became a consulting engineer and patent attorney, was a councillor (Parkside ward) 1900–1904 and first mayor of the newly proclaimed City of UnleyCity of UnleyThe City of Unley, is a Local Government Area in the Adelaide metropolitan region. It is located directly south of the Adelaide city centre. The City of Unley was proclaimed in 1906.-Suburbs:-External links:***...
1905–1907 (Mrs. Cooke laid the foundation stone of the new Town Hall in March 1907) then an alderman 1908–1914. He won the Central No. 2 seat on the Legislative Council in 1915 and remained an energetic member until his retirement in 1933. Unusually, he was permitted to continue using the honorific "Hon." after leaving parliament, on account of his long and meritorious service. He was a director of the Cowells Patent Lock Company and the Bruer Pianoforte Company amongst others, and invested in startup companies of local inventors. He was a leading Freemason, president of the Soldiers' Home League, the School of Arts and Crafts and the Myrtle Bank Home and prominent in many other associations.
- (Rosa) Eveline (25 November 1874 – ) married Alfred Charles Dancker of FremantleFremantle, Western AustraliaFremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
on 15 December 1900; they settled in Claremont, Western AustraliaClaremont, Western AustraliaClaremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, John Butler, a settler, set up an inn at Freshwater Bay to...
, but he died around 25 August 1918 and Eveline promptly changed her (and her son's) surname to Hunt Cooke by deed pollDeed pollA deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention...
. - Florence E. Cooke, Mus. Bac. (3 June 1888 – 11 December 1953) was a noted violinist and teacher of music. She wrote a march "Soldiers of Australia". The Florence Cooke Violin Prize, awarded by Elder ConservatoriumElder ConservatoriumThe Elder Conservatorium of Music is Australia's senior academy of music and one of the country's most distinguished institutions for comprehensive education, professional training, and research in music...
was named for her.
Personal
Cooke was musically talented, and in his younger days organized classical concerts.He was an authority on art, and an enthusiast for photograph tinting
He was an active member of the Anglican church.
He was an active and high-ranking Freemason.
On 24 April Mr. Cooke was granted eight months' leave of absence on full pay on account of his poor health, replaced by P. Whitington. Two weeks later he died, aged 73, in his home on South Terrace, Adelaide.