Jacob Montefiore

Jacob Barrow Montefiore (1801–1895) was a member of the South Australian Colonization Commission in London from 1835 to 1839, a body appointed by the British Government under King William IV to oversee implementation of the South Australia Act 1834, which established the Colony of South Australia. Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide, the location of Light's Vision (a statue of founding father Colonel Light), is named after Montefiore. Early life Montefiore was eldest son of Eliezer Montefiore, owner of a sugar plantation in Barbados with a home in London, and Judith (née Barrow). They were a wealthy family of Sephardi Jews, and his youngest brother Joseph Barrow Montefiore (1803–1893) was educated in London and lived in the city. Colonial interests Jacob got involved with trading produce in the colonies, and developed an interest in the Australian colonies, investing in the Swan River Colony (now Perth and Western Australia) in 1829, and also shared real estate interests in the Colony of New South Wales with his brother Joseph.