Henry Hampden Dutton (13 February 1879 – 15 June 1932), often referred to as Harry Dutton, was a South Australian pastoralist, remembered for in 1908 making the first automobile journey from Adelaide to Port Darwin.
He was born in North Adelaide, the son of Henry Dutton, the "Squire of Anlaby" (1844 – 26 August 1914), and studied at St. Peter's College, Lancing College, Essex, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he rowed against Cambridge and graduated MA.
He was a keen motorist and in November 1907 attempted the trip to Darwin with noted cyclist-mechanic Murray Aunger (1878–1953) in a 20–24 h.p. Talbot,[1] but was forced to abandon the car when it broke down near Tennant Creek.[2] Dutton and Aunger again left Adelaide on 30 June 1908 in a similar vehicle and were joined en route by Ernest Allchurch (c.1870–1932) the Telegraph Officer from Alice Springs. The three completed the journey on 20 August, having recovered the first Talbot on the way. The car and its steel-studied Michelin tyres were reported as having performed flawlessly.[3]
Harry was a keen yachtsman. In late 1912 he was delivered of his latest acquisition, the 36.5 ft auxiliary yacht called Wyruna.[4] Wyruna was often docked at Victor Harbor or Kangaroo Island, often ferrying family members between houses owned at both locations.
He inherited the pastoral property "Anlaby", near Kapunda in 1914 from his father. When World War One broke out, Harry and Emily were in London. Harry attempted to enlist, but was rejected owing to a knee injury caused by a riding accident. Upon return to Australia, he attempted to enlist again, but was again rejected.[5]
In 1921 he and his wife motored from Oodnadatta to Katherine; she was the first woman to make that trip.[6] Harry accompanied acclaimed geologist, Sir Edgeworth David, on an exploratory mission to Finke River to explore evidence of an ice age in Australia.[7] Harry and Emily accompanied Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian-born Arctic explorer, on an exploratory trip to Central Australia in 1924.[8]
His son, Geoffrey, described him in his autobiography as, "short, witty and jolly, with brown eyes in a genial round face, smoking cigarettes and cigars incessantly. He always wore a suit, with a waistcoat and white collar and tie. He loved the vulgarity of music-hall jokes and songs, and French ashtrays in the shape of a little wooden lavatory...."[9]
He and T. L. Browne purchased Corona Station in 1910, and sold it to Sidney Kidman in 1917. He sold his share in the station in 1926.[10]
Harry and Emily bought Kalymna House in the early 1920s to provide an Adelaide home for their sons, John and Richard, while they studied at St. Peter's College.
- ^ "Overland Motor Trip". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 26 November 1907. p. 11. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Transcontinental Motorists". The Observer. Adelaide. 1 February 1908. p. 47. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The End of the Long Journey". The Express and Telegraph. Adelaide. 21 August 1908. p. 4 Edition: 4 o'clock. Retrieved 24 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Wyruna – Classic Yacht Restoration | A site for the sailing yacht Wyruna". Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Dutton, Geoffrey (1994). Out in the open : an autobiography. University of Queensland Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-7022-2681-5. OCLC 611293112.
- ^ "Dutton family papers" (PDF). State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Australia's Ice Age". Herald. 6 July 1921. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Central Australia". Chronicle. 9 August 1924. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Dutton, Geoffrey. (1994). Out in the open : an autobiography. University of Queensland Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-7022-2681-5. OCLC 31974964.
- ^ Dutton, Geoffrey (1994). Out in the open : an autobiography. University of Queensland Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-7022-2681-5. OCLC 31974964.