Arthur Henry Freeling

Who was Arthur Henry Freeling?

Arthur Henry Freeling was the fifth Surveyor General of South Australia.

Freeling was the son of John Clayton Freeling and grandson of Sir Francis Freeling, Bt, and the elder brother of Sir Sanford Freeling, KCMG.

Freeling enlisted into the Royal Engineers and ultimately took service under the South Australian Government as Surveyor-General. In this capacity he did some valuable exploring work, and was a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils prior to the concession of responsible government.

He married, in 1848, Charlotte Augusta, daughter of Sir Henry Rivers, 9th Baronet.

He was elected to the new Legislative Council in March 1857, and sat till August 1876, when he resigned. In the meantime he was a member of the Finniss Ministry as Commissioner of Public Works from October 1856 to March 1857, when he retired rather than relinquish the permanent post of Surveyor-General, which he resigned in 1861, and returned to England. He was then a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Engineers, but became a major-general on retiring, and in 1871 succeeded as 5th Baronet of Ford and Hatchings, Sussex.

Sir Arthur died on 26 March 1885, when he was succeeded by his son Harry, the 6th Baronet.