Robert Cock

Robert Cock (25 May 1801 – 23 March 1871) was one of the first European explorers of the Adelaide region of South Australia following the establishment of the new colony in December 1836.

Robert was born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland in 1801, and arrived in South Australia with his family aboard the HMS Buffalo in December 1836, thus being in the first group of settlers in the new colony. Robert actively set about setting up his business affairs in the new colony.

He set up a sort of thatched roof in which he and his wife and 6 children lived while he built a house. The house, when built, was used as a store and saleroom, and the family remained in the primitive shelter whilst he pursued his explorations".

He was appointed SA's first government auctioneer in early 1837, a position he held until November 1838. He was for a time in partnership with fellow Buffalo passenger William Ferguson as auctioneers, and owners of Magill estate (then spelled Makgill, named for Cock's trustee), which they subdivided.

He conducted explorations of the areas around Adelaide, and the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas. In December 1837, Robert led a party of William Finlayson, A. Wyatt and G. Barton to explore the country between Adelaide and Lake Alexandrina. Leaving Adelaide on 25 December, they became the first Europeans to climb Mount Barker (although there is a more plausible counter-claim by Sir John Morphett). They crossed and named the Hindmarsh and the Angas rivers, arriving at Lake Alexandrina on 31 December. (The Hindmarsh was subsequently renamed the Bremer). In his journal, Robert noted the suitability of the region for wine growing. (He is occasionally cited as being the first to identify the Adelaide Hills as suitable for wine growing e.g. Pike). There is a memorial cairn to the explorers in Bridgewater, near the Bridgewater Mill site. Coxs Creek (originally Cock's Creek) was named after him.

In June 1838, Robert discovered a carriage route through the Adelaide Hills, which opened up communication between Adelaide and the Mt Barker region.

In August 1838, Robert Cock along with Edward Eyre and Bewes Strangways travelled back to Mount Barker to meet the celebrated explorer Charles Sturt, who had driven stock from New South Wales to Adelaide

In December 1838, Robert and the surgeon, R. G. Jameson, conducted a survey of the east coast of Yorke Peninsula. They concluded "if we could have found a fresh water river, we would have found it a good country for the maintenance of flocks and herds. From the numerous native population it is obvious that there is no scarcity of fresh water, although we could not find it."

In May 1839, Robert explored the Port Vincent area in conjunction with James Hughes.

In June 1839, Robert led a party on the schooner Victoria, captained by Captain Hutchinson. They explored Spencer Gulf, following the western shores of the Yorke Peninsula and the coast of the Eyre Peninsula as far as Port Lincoln. "Water can be had at from ten to twenty feet from the surface. In all probability the peninsula will in time be a great agricultural district."

Robert also demonstrated concern for the welfare of the aboriginal population:

... Robert Cock was deeply disturbed to find that local authorities still had no intention of honouring a commitment made while still in Britain to set aside one fifth of all land to provide a fund for aboriginal welfare. Having bought land in Adelaide he felt morally obliged to pay interest on one-fifth of the purchase price. 'I felt it my duty', he informed the local Protector of Aborigines in 1838, 'to pay to the proper authorities for the use of the natives this yearly rent'. He denied that the money was a donation but 'a just claim that the natives of this district have on me as an occupier of those lands'.

On another occasion he intervened in a dispute between the aborigines and the settlers to prevent violence, reminding the settlers that the law was for protection of all.

After several years as a land agent, Robert took up farming, first at Balhannah in the Adelaide hills and later in Mount Gambier, where he was one of the original residents. Later on, he opened up a brewery in Mount Gambier.

Robert died in Mount Gambier in 1871, where he is buried in the Pioneers cemetery. A son, James Cock (1833–1901) was MHA for Victoria from 1890 to 1899.