Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/275

 Hon. Sir Jenkin Coles ADELAIDE AiND VICINITY 249 office are still retained by him, and during his ten years' experience in it he has more than graduated in the knowledge required in its holder. In 1894 Sir Jenkin was singled out for the special commendation of the Crown, and had conferred upon him the dignity of K.C.M.G. Sir Jenkin Coles, who is one of the Directors of the Hank of Adelaide, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Citizens' Life Assurance Company, has a personality that is dignified and commanding. Tall, stern, and a close reader of men, the decisive power that one as.sociates with such a bearing could find no better sphere for its exercise than in the office of Speakership ; while in private life Sir Jenkin will be found an affable, courteous, and in every way estimable g(ntlenian. Sir John Alexander Cockburn, K.C.M.G., MD., Ex- Premier and Aoent-General THE ambassadorial position of Agent-General in London for an important self- governing Australian colony is not one easily to be filled, requiring as it does in the occupant abilities and qualities not only of a high order, but also rarely to be found in combination. The man who possesses the necessary business knowledge and capability may, as likely as not, lack the equally requisite longer foresight and larger mental grasp of the .statesman. He who has the indispen.sable tact and diplomatic skill and the desirable charm of manner, may be wanting in energy and power of initiative. But of Sir John Cockburn, the present representative of South Australia in the capital of the world, it may be said that he is fully qualified in all respects for the difficult post he holds — in short, that he is an ideal Agent-General. With unfailing courtesy of manner, and a pleasant address and presence, he combines intellectual activity, great working powers, and a keen instinct for the best means of promoting the interests of the Province he represents. He never loses an opportunity for vigorously advertising South Australia by voice and pen in the great centres of civilisation, whether the chance arise at his own official door, or in the yet farther distant United States of America. John Alexander Cockburn was born at Corsbie, in the Lammermuirs, Scotland, in 1850; and he is therefore now in his fiftieth year. As a boy he was sent to Chomeley School, Highgate, London ; and he subsequently studied medicine at King's College, London. At the age of 23 he graduated with the M.B. degree at the London University, and in the following year (1874), gained the gold medal in the medical course at that institution. Then, like so many of his enterprising and capable countrymen who have duly provided themselves with a good education, he looked abroad for a career rather than to the overcrowded homeland. I'^ate directed his steps to South Australia, and he came out to the Province in 1875. He chose Jamestown for his first sphere of labor, and there he settled and entered upon the practice of his profession. He speedily became popular in that localitv, and was chosen as the first Mayor of the town. He held the leading civic