Australian Dictionary of Biography

  • Tip: searches only the name field
  • Tip: Use double quotes to search for a phrase

Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

In addition, some articles contain terms or views that were acceptable within mainstream Australian culture in the period in which they were written, but may no longer be considered appropriate.

These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australian National University.

Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context.

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894–1950)

by Valmai A. Hankel

This article was published:

This is a shared entry with Dorothy Elizabeth Mortlock

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), by unknown photographer, 1936

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), by unknown photographer, 1936

State Library of South Australia, B 43444

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), benefactor and pastoralist, and Dorothy Elizabeth Mortlock (1906-1979), philanthropist, were husband and wife. He was born on 30 March 1894 at Mintaro, South Australia, second of five sons of South Australian-born parents William Tennant Mortlock, grazier, and his wife Rosina Forsyth, daughter of Andrew Tennant. William Ranson Mortlock was his grandfather. Jack was educated at the Grammar School, Glenelg, the Collegiate School of St Peter, Adelaide, and Jesus College, Cambridge. After his father's death in 1913, he returned to South Australia to take control of the family estate, which included Martindale Hall, a Georgian-style house near Mintaro, and stations in the vicinity of Port Augusta and Port Lincoln, as well as property in Western Australia, Victoria and England.

A member (from 1915) of the Adelaide Club, Mortlock drove fast cars, owned racehorses and greyhounds, and enjoyed shooting. He became a successful pastoralist and stud Merino breeder, and chaired the Yudnapinna Pastoral Co. Ltd and Yalluna Pty Ltd. His employees and neighbours spoke of his 'charm' and 'kindly disposition', yet he was essentially a bookish, withdrawn and solitary individual who did not make friends easily.

In 1926 Mortlock donated £2000 to the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, University of Adelaide. In 1936 he and his mother gave a further £25,000 to establish the Ranson Mortlock Trust for research into soil erosion and pasture regeneration. An active member of St Peter's Anglican Church, Mintaro, he was also a keen yachtsman, an amateur film-maker and an orchid exhibitor. By this stage, however, he had developed a serious drinking problem.

Dorothy was born on 5 October 1906 at Clapham, London, daughter of Ernest Robert William Beech, pawnbroker's assistant, and his wife Elizabeth Lillian, née Beauchamp. The family emigrated to Adelaide where she was employed (from 1940) as secretary to Ernest Scarfe, who managed Mortlock's estates and finances. When Scarfe died in 1947, she took over Mortlock's accounts. On 7 December 1948, soon after he was diagnosed with cancer, Mortlock married Dorothy at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide. He died on 15 March 1950 in North Adelaide and was buried in North Road cemetery. His South Australian estate was sworn for probate at £1,148,124. He left over £73,000 to cultural organizations and charities. The balance, held in trust by his wife, was divided between the Waite institute and the Libraries Board of South Australia. In 1986 the Mortlock Library of South Australiana was established as part of the State Library of South Australia.

Mrs Mortlock had become a committee-member (1961) and vice-president (1979) of the Friends of the S.L.S.A. She gave generously to a host of charities. Shy and reserved, and to some degree a loner like her husband, she was a woman of dignity who held strong opinions, but seemed to lack confidence. She died on 10 August 1979 in Adelaide and was cremated.

Select Bibliography

  • Who's Who: South Australia Centenary, 1936 (Adel, 1936)
  • D. Whitelock (ed), The Mid North of South Australia (Adel, 1977)
  • E. Warburton, The Bowmans of Martindale Hall (Adel, 1979)
  • Greater Than Their Knowing (Adel, 1986)
  • Northern Sportsman (Adelaide), 25 Sept 1924
  • Advertiser (Adelaide), 16 Mar 1950, 18 Aug 1979, 5 May 1984
  • Mortlock family papers, PRG 717 (State Library of South Australia)
  • private information.

Citation details

Valmai A. Hankel, 'Mortlock, John Andrew Tennant (1894–1950)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mortlock-john-andrew-tennant-11182/text19927, published first in hardcopy 2000, accessed online 19 March 2024.

This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15, (Melbourne University Press), 2000

View the front pages for Volume 15

© Copyright Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2024

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), by unknown photographer, 1936

John Andrew Tennant Mortlock (1894-1950), by unknown photographer, 1936

State Library of South Australia, B 43444

Life Summary [details]

Birth

30 March, 1894
Mintaro, South Australia, Australia

Death

15 March, 1950 (aged 55)
North Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation