Robert Barr Smith had a genius for business. He was also a generous philanthropist, though his modesty dictated that much of the funding was dispensed anonymously.
Sarah Jane (Jeanna) Young (née Foster) (1866–1955), inspired by Catherine Helen Spence, became secretary of the Effective Voting League (1897), wrote and lectured on proportional representation and, with Spence, campaigned for eight weeks in Sydney to have the Hare-Spence voting system adopted in Federal elections. She would later run for parliament and receive an OBE.
Before and after the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal peoples had a well-developed cultural understanding and practical knowledge of plants, animal behaviour, local geology and meteorological conditions. Information they provided was frequently vital to the success – and even survival – of early European navigators and explorers.
Sir Charles Todd was a leader in the fields of meteorology, astronomy and communications, and is best remembered for masterminding the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line.
Philosopher, Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, and a teacher of economics, psychology and literature, Sir William Mitchell was nothing if not a polymath.
The steam engine became part of daily life, thanks to its industrial applications, powering modes of transport and agricultural machinery, and labour-saving utility
Thomas Hardy lectured and wrote on the wine business and olive growing, was a member of the Phylloxera Board, Wine Growers’ Association, South Australian Agricultural and Horticultural Society and the Chamber of Manufactures, judged local horticultural shows, published regularly in the local press and wrote two books, Notes on Vineyards in America and Europe (1885) and A Vigneron Abroad, Trip to South Africa (1899).