Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/547

 ADELAIDE AND VICINriY Mr. Henry John Richman THE heroes of Australian history are the pioneers, who, with Hfe in hand, venture into the lonely bush to fight with man and with Nature. The large slice of the continent which was entrusted to the government of South Australia perforce turned the thoughts of her people to exploration, and the Province thus became the theatre of many tours of discovery. Perhaps the most valuable of the pioneers is the enterprising settler who ventures beyond established boundaries and proves the quali- ties of new soils and atmos|)heric conditions. To such a class the subject of this sketch belongs ; and, though now ripe in years, he still possesses all those stout, fearless qualities of mind and frame which are rightly associated with Australian pioneers. Mr. Henry John Richman was born at Lymington, Hamp- shire, England, in January, 1826. Arriving in this Province three X'ears after its foundation, he completed his education under the late Rev. T. O. Stow ; and then commenced to climb the ladder of fortune from the lowest runof. He worked for some time on farms and sheep-stations until he had acquired sufficient capital to stock a station with 1,400 sheep Fergus.,,,,,,,, .^^ Mount Browu. He thus embarked, in October, 1849, and the conditions in so remote a locality at that early date were far from favorable. The station was situated in what is now known as Richman 's Valley, near Quorn. It was surrounded by high hills, and infested with natives, who proved extremely troublesome. Having a strong propensity for .sheep - stealing, these blacks employed the boldest methods to attain their object. Sometimes they would cut numbers off from the flocks unobserved by the shepherds ; and on dark, rainy nights would even prowl into the yards, situated quite close to the hut, and carry off the annnals. The troubles with blacks were not confined to theft, for the natives showed that they II
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