Josiah Partridge


Josiah Partridge was a lawyer in the early days of the British Colony of South Australia.

History

Partridge emigrated to South Australia aboard Rajasthan, an unaccompanied widower, arriving in November 1838 and settled on what became Partridge Street, Glenelg.
Partridge was one of the first seven lawyers to be registered in South Australia. He practised in Adelaide as a solicitor in partnership with James George Nash, and had a reputation for honest dealing. He was mostly involved in conveyancing until the Torrens Act reduced the amount of litigation involved in such transactions. He suffered a back injury from falling off his horse while commuting between Glenelg and Adelaide, and for many years he could not sit up, and around 1856 sold his business to Herford & Boucaut, the latter at the onset of an illustrious career that would see him Judge of the Supreme Court and Premier of the Colony. A few years later he retired to "Malvern", a country property near Clarendon, where he remained. He recovered his health to some extent, and took daily horseback rides until his final illness. He became deaf, but his eyesight was perfect and he retained his mental faculties to the end.
Partridge married the eldest daughter of William Giles, of the South Australian Company. They both died at "Malvern", she a few years before him; they were survived by five sons and four daughters.

Family

Josiah Partridge was a son of Birmingham merchant John Partridge and his wife Mary née Stroud. He married Fanny Huckvale who died sometime before he embarked on Rajasthan for South Australia in July 1838.
He married Mary Giles in Adelaide on 25 June 1840. She was a daughter of William Giles, who also arrived in SA in 1838. Their children included:
Several members of the family were interred at the