Alexander Sutherland (educator)

Sutherland was born at Glasgow, both parents were Scottish, his father, George Sutherland, a carver of ship's figureheads, married Jane Smith, a woman of character and education. The family came to Australia in 1864 on account of the father's health, and Alexander at 14 years of age became a pupil-teacher with the education department at Sydney.

Coming to Melbourne in 1870, he first taught at John Meeson's[1] Hawthorn Grammar School, then entered on the arts course at the University, largely supported by scholarships, and graduated with honours in 1874. For two years he was a mathematics master at Scotch College, Melbourne, and in 1877 succeeded George Henry Neighbour[2] as proprietor and principal of Carlton College.[3] The school was so successful that 15 years later he was able to retire and devote himself to literature.[4] He was responsible for the first volume of Victoria and its Metropolis (1888), a history of the first 50 years of the state of Victoria. In 1890 he published Thirty Short Poems, the cultured verse of an experienced literary man.

The Australian banking crisis of 1893 however, affected his financial position, and he was obliged to take up journalism for the Argus and The Australasian. But his The Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct,[5] appeared in 1898 in two volumes. Sutherland had long brooded over this work and was greatly pleased at receiving the commendation of some of the leaders of philosophic thought in England. Generally the book was well received both in Europe and the United States. With his brother, George Sutherland, he wrote a short History of Australia, selling 120,000 copies, and he collaborated with Henry Gyles Turner in a useful volume, The Development of Australian Literature (1898). His undoubted powers as a teacher gave value to his text book, A New Geography, and other works of that kind. He contributed on scientific subjects to the nineteenth century, and did a large amount of lecturing on literature and science in Melbourne.

In 1897 he became a candidate for parliament, but his methods were too guileless and straightforward to ensure success . In 1898, he went to London as representative of the South Australian Register, but found the climate oppressed him and returned to Australia towards the end of 1899. He continued his journalistic work in Melbourne, and in March 1901 was an unsuccessful candidate for the southern Melbourne seat in the first federal parliament. Soon afterwards he was appointed by the council of the University of Melbourne to the position of registrar.

The university was passing through a difficult time after a period of slack administration, and Sutherland had to work very hard. Professor Morris died on 1 January 1902 while on leave in Europe;[6] Sutherland took over his lectures on English literature. The burden of the extra work was too great for Sutherland who did not have a strong constitution, and he died suddenly on 9 August 1902. His widow, Elizabeth J. Sutherland, a son and three daughters survived him.

Sutherland was a son of George Sutherland, wood carver, and his wife Jane Sutherland, née Smith. His siblings include painter Jane Sutherland (1853–1928), author George Sutherland (1855–1905), and physicist William Sutherland (1859–1911).

Sutherland married Elizabeth Jane "Lizzie" Ballantine (1854 – 14 June 1939)[7] in Hobart on 26 March 1879.[8] Their children include:

• Malcolm Sutherland (15 January 1881 – 13 January 1889)
• daughter (24 March 1882 – )
• daughter (22 April 1883 – )
• daughter (19 December 1886 – )
• Dallas Sutherland (22 January 1890 – 20 August 1916)[9] solicitor and hockey player. He was killed in France.
• daughter (18 January 1891 – )

They had a home, "Dunrobin" at 31 Alma Road, St Kilda, later 17? 31? Chaucer Crescent, Canterbury.

Margaret Sutherland and Ruth Sutherland have been mentioned as daughters, however Margaret Ada Sutherland AO OBE (20 November 1897 – 12 August 1984), musician and composer, and Ruth Sutherland (1884–1948), painter and art critic, were daughters of George Sutherland (1 October 1855 – 1 December 1905), brother of the subject of this article.

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Alexander Sutherland

• Serle, Percival (1949). "Sutherland, Alexander". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

• Works by Alexander Sutherland at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Alexander Sutherland at Internet Archive
• Works by Alexander Sutherland at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)