James Rowell

Colonel James Rowell (20 January 1851 – 6 July 1940) was an Australian soldier and politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 1917 to 1923, representing the Nationalist Party. He was a long-serving officer in volunteer units, commanding a South Australian colonial unit during the second Boer War and later holding command in the Citizen Military Forces.

Early life Rowell was born on 20 January 1851 in Cambridge, England. He was the son of Susan and John Rowell. His father was a gardener at the time of his birth and later became a smallholder.

Rowell and his family immigrated to South Australia in 1855. His father took up a property of at Lockleys and established an orchard and vineyard on The Reedbeds. He attended the public school in Fulham, leaving school at a young age to assist his father and later inheriting a one-third share in the property. He was said to be "highly skilled in the horticultural field and did much to advance the interests of the primary producer in South Australia".

In the Senate, Rowell spoke frequently on primary industry and matters relating to returned servicemen. He was a strong supporter of the Australian Soldiers' Repatriation Act 1917, which gave generous assistance to returned soldiers, and unsuccessfully sought to extend the war service homes scheme to veterans of the Boer War. In 1918, Rowell was appointed to the Select Committee on the Effect of Intoxicating Liquor on Australian Soldiers. He supported the majority position which opposed legislation to impose prohibition on the military.

Personal life In 1874, Rowell married Elizabeth Marchant, with whom he had two children. He was widowed in 1881 and remarried in 1883 to Zella Williams, with whom he had another five children. His son Sydney became an army general and served as chief of the general staff, while two other sons also saw active service.

Rowell died at his home in Lockleys on 6 July 1940, aged 89.