There are three roads that bear the Huntriss name.
Huntriss Row is in the Yorkshire town of Scarborough, and is named after the builder who constructed it. The ancestry of most members of the Huntriss family can be traced back to those who lived in this area.
Huntriss Road is in Scarborough, a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is said that the name was given to the area by a group of local land developers who were inspired by the Yorkshire town of Scarborough and its associations with seaside resorts and holiday destinations. You can read more about these two streets here.
But why is there a Huntriss Street in Southern Australia?
Huntriss Street, Torrensville, Adelaide
Was it named after a local dignitary?
There are two branches of the Huntriss family in Australia:
- Frederick Huntriss, born in Sherburn-in-Elmet in 1857, was married in New South Wales in 1886. He was a blacksmith by trade.
- William Thomas Huntriss, was born in 1920, and his family moved to Australia from England, probably in the 1960’s.
Neither of these are candidates.
Was it named after a sea captain?
At least two streets in the West Torrens area (Farncomb Road and Good Street) are named after ship’s commanders.
Robert Huntriss (1812-1855) was born in Neston in Cheshire, and sailed to that part of the world.
Robert Huntriss was just one of many sea captains plying his trade in this area, and it seems unlikely that he would be commemorated in this way.
Can we get any clues from the history of the area?
The area around modern-day Adelaide was originally inhabited by the Indigenous Kaurna people, one of many Aboriginal tribes in South Australia.
The Colonization Commissioners and their colleagues in London
planned the settlement of South Australia from a thoroughly nineteenth
century western outlook. The land they were to occupy was the home of
Aboriginal people who had lived on the Adelaide plains for at least 40,000
years, but this posed no moral dilemma to the planners.
They believed that, if treated with kindness, Aborigines might in time undergo some rudimentary education and training and accept Christian values and a work ethic. They might be employed, save a little money and acquire property in the way that working people who emigrated to South Australia could do. There was little thought given to the idea that Aboriginal people might prefer their own ways.
Colonel William Light (1786 – 839), was a British-Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony’s capital, Adelaide, and for designing the layout of its streets, six city squares, gardens and the figure-of-eight Adelaide Park Lands, in a plan later sometimes referred to as Light’s Vision.
The South Australian Commissioners had offered 437 land orders at £81, ‘each entitling its purchaser to a country section of 80 acres and a town allotment of one acre.’
A ballot was held to determine the order of choice of section; by extraordinary luck drew the right to make the first selection. He chose Section 1, which was named “Thebarton” , a misspelling of Therberton Hall in Suffolk, where he grew up.
The section we are interested in is Section 47. This was purchased by Christopher Rawson, from Yorkshire, one of a number of purchasers who were primarily investors rather than settlers. Rawson retained the land for many years; it was used as farm land until 1908 when the southern part was subdivided as Torrensville Estate.
On the City of West Torrens website is a list of street names with origins. Whilst Huntriss Street is not included, there are details for two nearby streets. .
It would seem that the land was sold by Christopher Rawson to the Danby Estate. The three Danby brothers were the sons of The Reverend Samuel Danby; Robert Parker was his son-in-law, and Frances Wainhouse his sister-in-law.
It is probable that the family are related to the Danby’s who were once of Swinton Park in North Yorkshire. The construction at Swinton Park was commenced in 1695 by the splendidly named Sir Abstrupus Danby, described as a wool baron.
Christopher Rawson (1877 – 1849) was a magistrate, banker, landowner and industrialist, one of the most powerful men in Halifax. He was one of the first investors in the South Australian Company which partly financed the development of the State of South Australia, and for many years he was a Director of the Union Bank of Australia, now the ANZ Bank, one of Australia’s largest banks.
Samuel Danby was the first vicar of St Paul’s church in Kings Cross, Halifax, and was one of many churchmen in that family. His wife was the daughter of Edward Wainhouse, the local dye works owner, who partly funded the building of the church.
Records of a local firm of solicitors which has been operating in South Australia from the early years of settlement show that other Halifax people had interests in the wider area, the names of whom coincide with street names.
Abbot Street
John Abbot (1796-1870), Woolstapler, Carpet Manufacturer, and one of the founders of the Halifax Joint Stock Banking Company. A counterpart lease of section 445, Willunga.
Beaumont Street
George Beaumont (1794-1858), worsted manufacturer, partner in the Halifax Joint Stock Banking Company. Conveyance of section 775 to his son, following his death.
Bramley Court
Dr Lawrence Bramley, Halifax surgeon and military examiner. Lease of section 449 to Richard Strout, farmer, near Willunga.
In 1877, Edward Huntriss (1850-1926), son of William Huntriss Jnr, leased Waterloo Villa in Halifax from Lawrence Bramley for a 5 year period.
Crowther Street
Jonathan Crowther, Halifax. Land grant, sections 398 and 540.
Ingham Way
John and Henry Ingham, manufacturers. Halifax. Power of Attorney following the death of John Ingham.
What is clear is that there were a number of people from Halifax who invested in the new colony. Given the rarity of the Huntriss name, and the proximity of Huntriss Street to two other streets with Halifax connections, it is reasonable to suppose that this street is linked in some way to the Huntriss family in Halifax.
William Huntriss (1780-1847) moved to Halifax from Sherburn-in-Elmet and set up a cotton spinning business.
He was a Freemason, and joined at the same time as Christopher Rawson.
Whilst the two men would have known each other, William is highly unlikely to have been involved in the Australian project, having been declared bankrupt 1824.
His son (also called William) was a very successful mill owner, and had connections with several of the other individuals.
The Halifax Joint Stock Banking company was formed in 1836 from private banks owned by the Rawson family; John Abbott was a director, William Huntriss and George Beaumont were partners and shareholders. John Caw, the first manager of the bank, was William’s son-in-law.
William played a full part in civic life as did others in this group; he and John Abbott served as borough magistrates, whilst John and Edward Ingham were both local councillors.
It is possible that William Huntriss invested in this part of Australia, although there’s no evidence of this. There are strong links between him and those who did invest. Is that enough to claim that Huntriss Street was named after him?
There’s a Halifax Street in Adelaide itself. Could this be related?
There are a couple of explanations for the origin of this name.
The Colonial Land and Emigration Commission was established by a Commission from Queen Victoria on 14 January 1840; Charles Wood was appointed to the Commission in 1843. If the dates are correct, then this is some six years after the naming of the road.
The “Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia” on the South Australian government website gives an alternative derivation, stating that it is a mis-spelling of Thomas Hallifax, a member of the banking firm of Glyn, Hallifax and Mills of London. Thomas Hallifax was reportedly responsible for introducing “letters of credit”, which customers travelling overseas could confidently present to overseas banks such as those already established in South Australia.
Is it fanciful to think that there might be another explanation?