John Harris (Australian settler)

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John Harris (1754 - 27 April 1838) was a military surgeon and magistrate who became one of the earliest major landowners in the colony of New South Wales. Harris was born in Moneymore, County Londonderry, Ireland. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Prior to his arrival in New South Wales in June 1790, he served in the Royal Navy for ten years.

Harris was granted 100 acres (0.4 km²) of land in Parramatta in 1793. This grant was cancelled a year later and he was granted 110 acres (0.4 km²) in Harris Park instead. In 1803 he was brought before a court composed of officers in the NSW Corps, charged with committing an offence on the "19th ultimo" (the 19th of last month). As the offence had been committed on the "19th instant" (the 19th of this month), he had to be acquitted. In 1806, he was granted all of the land on the Drummoyne Peninsula. He had various other landholdings including some in Ultimo, which he named after his famous legal case.. His total landholdings were listed at 5,114 acres (21 km²) in 1826.

Despite having no formal legal training, Harris was appointed a magistrate and played an important role in early political manoeuvring in the colony.^[1]