George Angas

George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, from England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Colony of South Australia. He established the South Australian Company and was its founding chairman of the board of directors. In later life he migrated to the colony and served as a member of the first South Australian Legislative Council.

Angas was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, fifth son of Caleb Angas of Newcastle (1743–1831) and his second wife Sarah Angas née Lindsay (1749–1802). Caleb was a successful coach builder and ship owner. After his mother's death, he continued his education at a boarding school and at age 15 became an apprentice coachbuilder under his father's direction. Four years later he went to London to gain further experience and returned to Newcastle in 1809 where he worked as a supervisor for his father's business. On 12 April 1812 in Hutton, Essex, he married Rosetta French(1793–1867), daughter of John French (1761–1829), "Gentleman of Hutton, Essex", and Rosetta French née Rayner (1756–1836). They had three sons and four daughters.

Over the next 20 years Angas took a large role in the family business in Newcastle with branches in British ports, the West Indies and Spanish America, and steadily developed his own shipping business in London, also spending time in Honduras. Angas came from a religious household, and as a religious person became a secretary of the Newcastle Sunday School Union. He was asked to stand for Parliament on two occasions but declined partly due to reasons of poor health. He had a talent for banking, and played a large part in the founding of the National Provincial Bank of England (in 1833, which exists today after several mergers as NatWest), sitting as a director on its first board, the Union Bank of Australia (in 1836) and the South Australian Banking Company (in 1840).

Angas had become relatively wealthy and was concerned with putting his money to the best use. He became interested in a proposed settlement in South Australia and in 1832 joined the committee of the South Australian Land Company. His own views on systematic colonisation dealt with the exclusion of convicts, concentration of settlers, sending out (preferably religious) intelligent people with capital, the emigration of young couples of good character, free trade, free government, and freedom of religion.

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