Ebenezer Cooke was a South Australian accountant, Member of Parliament and Commissioner of Audit. Cooke was born in London, England where his eldest brother, the Rev. John Cooke, was a noted Egyptologist and co-founder of The Freeman, a Baptist weekly newspaper.
Accountant
In 1863 Ebenezer Cooke was sent out to the colony of South Australia by the English and Australian Copper Company as accountant for their smelting works in St. Vincent Street, Port Adelaide. He took on role of superintendent then was officially appointed to that position, which he held until "headhunted" by the Public Service in 1882. He was replaced by Frederick Ireland who, like Cooke, was promoted from the post of Accountant.
Politics
On 1 March 1875 he was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as member for Flinders, encompassing northern towns such as Port Augusta and Port Pirie with colleagues Patrick Boyce Coglin and John Williams. In 1878 he was re-elected for the same district, with William Ranson Mortlock taking the place of Williams. In 1881 Cooke was once more successful, his fellow-members being Mortlock and A. Tennant. On 31 July 1879 he was appointed chairman of the Royal Commission on Finance, which ran for nearly three years. The Commission's final report, dated 2 May 1882, recommended the creation of an Audit Office with two Commissioners of Audit. These recommendations were accepted with Cooke and Alfred Heath appointed to the top jobs. This necessitated his retirement from parliament; he resigned on 24 October 1882, though he did retain the position of attorney for the English and Australian Copper Company and directorship of the related English Copper Company.
Government Auditor
He took up the post in February 1883. He and Heath worked harmoniously and efficiently, but when Heath retired, Cooke continued in the role alone with no obvious reduction in the Office's effectiveness. He Under his leadership, the Audit Office evolved from an investigative body to a powerful arm of Government, giving advice, and to some extent control, outside its original remit. He supported the formation of the Public Service Association in 1884, and was its first president.
Family
He was the brother of Rev. J. Hunt Cooke of Richmond, Surrey. He married Eliza Peyton in London in 1859. Their children were
was educated at Mr. Martin's school at Port Adelaide, Thomas Caterer's Norwood Grammar School and St. Peter's College was accountant for Henry Scott, followed his father as accountant and acting manager of the English and Australian Copper Company, then for the Chaffey Brothers. He briefly worked in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales before settling down in Camberwell, Victoria, working for H. C. Stezl, shipping agents of Melbourne. He married Ada Grace Rosetta Collins of Bendigo on 8 March 1893 and had two daughters. He was a keen mathematician and the author of The A.B.C. Perpetual Calendar.
Ernest Cooke was educated at Thomas Caterer's Norwood Grammar School and admitted to Adelaide University under-age, won the South Australian scholarship of £200 in 1882 and on graduating was assistant to Sir Charles Todd, assistant Government Astronomer for South Australia, then from 1896 Government Astronomer of Western Australia until he was offered a similar post in Sydney. He was frustrated by the advent of World War I in his ambition to make this a world-class facility, and retired to South Australia in 1920. He was a Fellow of the Theosophical Society. He married Jessie Elizabeth Greayer at the Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church, Wakefield Street, Adelaide on 30 June 1887.
After the death of his wife, he married Rosa Phillipps, a sister of W. Herbert Phillipps on 8 May 1866. Their children were
Eveline married Alfred Charles Dancker of Fremantle on 15 December 1900; they settled in Claremont, Western Australia, but he died around 25 August 1918 and Eveline promptly changed her surname to Hunt Cooke by deed poll.
Florence Emmeline Cooke, Mus. Bac. was a noted violinist and teacher of music. She wrote a march "Soldiers of Australia". The Florence Cooke Violin Prize, awarded by Elder Conservatorium was named for her.
Personal
Cooke was musically talented, and in his younger days organized classical concerts. He was an authority on art, and an enthusiast for photograph tinting. He was an active member of the Anglican church and an active and high-ranking Freemason. On 24 April 1907 Mr. Cooke was granted eight months' leave of absence on full pay on account of his poor health, and replaced by P. Whitington. Two weeks later he died, aged 73, in his home on South Terrace, Adelaide.
