Jacob Smith

Jacob William Smith (c. 1816 – 21 December 1891) was a ship's captain who served as Mayor and Member of Parliament for Port Adelaide in the colony of South Australia. Captain Smith was born in England the son of a paymaster in the Royal Navy, and was trained for the sea. At the age of nineteen he found himself in command of a fine Indiaman when the captain died at sea. He subsequently commanded a number of ships of the Duncan Dunbar line, and earned a high reputation and made rapid progress through the ranks of the company. He made, as captain of the David Malcolm, a splendid barque of 538 tons, three trips bringing migrants from London to Adelaide : in January 1847, March 1848, and April 1849. His next trips to the colony were in charge of the brig Flash, 159 tons, from Melbourne in December 1851, and February 1852, then he settled down to a life on shore. He bought a property at Woodville and started a shipping agency at Port Adelaide. For a time he owned the brig Lord Montgomery, then in August 1853 purchased the barque Templeton, which traded between Adelaide and Melbourne during the Ballarat gold rush.