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Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873.
His lasting memorial was in the name Uluru, now better-known as Uluru, which was named in 1873 by the explorer William Gosse. On this day, 11 June 1897, Sir Henry Ayers: Professional Historians Association
Until 1845, he worked as a law clerk, and was then appointed secretary of the South Australian Mining Association, which owned the copper mine at Burra Burra. Henry Roach was chief Captain, responsible for day-to-day operations, from 1847 to 1867. Within a year the mine employed over 1000 men. For nearly 50 years, Ayers was in control of the operation, known as the "Monster Mine", initially as the secretary and later as the managing director. He made his wealth from the mine, which also secured the wealth of the colony of South Australia.
In March 1863 Ayers was selected as one of the three South Australian representatives at the inter-colonial conference on uniform tariffs and inland customs duties. He also represented the colony at several other conferences from 1864 to 1877. On 4 July 1863 Ayers became minister without portfolio in the first Francis Dutton cabinet. This ministry resigned just 11 days later however, as council demanded that it should have an executive minister to represent the government and Dutton refused. Ayers formed his first ministry as Premier and Chief Secretary on 15 July 1863.
The house was much divided and it was almost impossible to get business done. Ayers reconstructed his ministry on 22 July 1864 but was defeated, and resigned on 4 August 1864. The Arthur Blyth ministry which was then formed included Ayers as chief secretary, but did not survive a general election and resigned on 22 March 1865. When Dutton formed his second ministry, Ayers regained his old position as chief secretary and, still retaining that office, formed his third administration on 20 September 1865, which lasted just over a month. In spite of dissolutions, it was found very difficult to get a workable house. 18 ministries came and went between July 1863 and July 1873. Ayers became the premier again from May 1867 to September 1868, October to November 1868, 27 January 1872 to March 1872 and, with an entirely new team of ministers, from March 1872 to July 1873. He held the position of chief secretary in the Colton ministry from June 1876 to October 1877, his last term of office.
In 1881, Ayers was elected President of the South Australian Legislative Council and, until December 1893, carried out his duties with ability, impartiality and courtesy. He died in Adelaide on 11 June 1897. His wife had died in 1881, and he was survived by three sons and a daughter. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1870, knighted as a Knight Commander of the same order (KCMG) in 1872, and raised to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1894 Birthday Honours.
Ayers resided in Ayers House from 1855 until 1897 and, in the 1860s, expanded it from a nine-room house into a grand mansion. His youngest child, Lucy, was born there. During Sir Henry's parliamentary service, Ayers House was used for cabinet meetings, parliamentary dinners, and grand balls.
Ayers' remains were buried at the West Terrace Cemetery (Road 3, Path 19).
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