Robert Gouger ( ; 26 June 1802 â 4 August 1846) was one of the founders of South Australia and the first Colonial Secretary of South Australia.
Gouger was the fifth son of nine children of George Gouger (1763âÂÂ1802).
In November 1829, Gouger ended up in King's Bench Prison as a result of a debt to the printer. There he shared a cell with Anthony Bacon (1796âÂÂ1864) and first learned about southern Australia from Captain Henry Dixon.
Gouger's brother soon rescued him and he began to distribute copies of the Letter, but won little support until he approached Wilmot Horton for help in forming a society for assisting pauper emigration to the colonies. From this embryo was born the National Colonization Society, with Gouger as its secretary, but it failed on theoretical details after Wakefield was released from Newgate in May 1830.
Gouger was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 28 December 1836 to 22 August 1837 and 8 July 1839 to 16 October 1841.
Gouger was a committed member of Freemasonry and a founding member of the South Australian Lodge of Friendship. He was elected and initiated into the Craft at the first meeting of that Lodge which was held on 27 November 1834 at the South Australian Association in London. This Lodge was especially founded to become the first Lodge in the yet to be proclaimed colony of South Australia.
Gouger Street in Adelaide was named in his honour.
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