Portrait of F. Hayward from Aroona from the S.A. Northern Pioneers' composite, 1850-1859 (shown in position on B 6912/3).

Johnson Frederick Hayward was born at Somerset, England, 5 September 1822. He arrived in South Australia in 1847 on the Phoebe (ship). In his Reminiscences of Johnson Frederick Hayward, he records "I landed in the colony with about 40 Pounds, was twenty-four years of age, and anxious to turn my hand to anything in the shape of stock till I could get sufficient experience to start on my own account sheep-farming." (p.81) He was usually known as 'Fred'. It is not known whether the F.H. Hayward of the photograph is in fact Johnson Frederick 'Fred' Hayward: none of Fred's several brothers had these initials.

For many years Fred Hayward was the representative and trusted manager of the pastoral properties of Dr John Harris Browne and his brother, and became a notable figure in the development of South Australia's pastoral industry. He acquired a half share in Aroona station from the Browne bothers in 1851. He sold this in 1862, selling before the severe drought of the 1860s ruined many pastoralists. During his time in the Flinders Ranges, Hayward was involved in a number of violent retaliations against Aboriginal people. Some of these are documented in his 'Reminiscences'.

In 1864 he returned to Bath, England where he named his new property 'Aroona'. He retained a keen interest in South Australia and on a return visit in 1869 he purchased Canowie Station near Hallett.

He died 8 April 1912 in England. Hayward Bluff, Brachina Gorge in the Flinders Ranges is named for him.

Hayward, A

'Reminiscences of Johnson Frederick Hayward' Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch vol. 29 1927-28, pp. 79-170

Cockburn, R Pastoral pioneers of South Australia 2 v. Adelaide: Publishers Limited, 1925-1927 ("Reprinted from the Adelaide Stock and Station Journal.") vol. 1 pp. 108-9

Foster, Robert, Rick Hosking and Amanda Nettlebeck Fatal collisions : the South Australian frontier and the violence of memory , Kent Town, S. Aust.: Wakefield Press, 2001, pp. 94-105

Mincham, Hans The story of the Flinders Ranges Adelaide: Rigby, 1967

Aroona Valley, SA

SA Memory: Foundation of South Australia 1802-1851: SA Northern Pioneers: A. Hayward

Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930: Brachina Gorge 1852