An enigmatic and little-known individual, during the late 1830s John Hill sighted and named several important rivers of South Australia, as well as many lesser streams and creeks.
Undertaking pastoralism pursuits in the Monaro region, by 1837 he had travelled extensively throughout that colony, becoming acquainted with such fellow pastoralists as Edward John Eyre, and of Dr. George Imlay, one of three land-owning brothers from Eden district.
Hill's first priority was to reconnoitre a viable route for overlanding livestock from New South Wales, particularly through the Mount Lofty Ranges, which was the unexplored gap between the Murray River and Adelaide.
They then sighted and traversed the sources of the Onkaparinga River through Oakbank and Woodside, before returning to Adelaide through the Basket Range, Norton Summit and Magill districts.
His optimistic reports later gave rise to European settlement there through a special survey by a syndicate of nine investors, most being connected to the London-based Secondary Towns Association, including such settlers as Horrocks and Gleeson.
Hill next conducted four exploratory expeditions either directly or indirectly on behalf of that Association, searching for suitable sites to establish speculative towns secondary to the capital, Adelaide.
[20][21] In December 1839, again using a chartered vessel, the Hero under Captain John Hart, Hill explored the hinterland of the Limestone Coast at Robe and the Glenelg River but found no sites suitable for the Association's purposes.
[25] Accompanied by Deputy Surveyor-General Thomas Burr, Hill returned to Adelaide on horseback, the pair being the first Europeans to traverse Northern Yorke Peninsula, reporting that they had discovered extensive fertile land.
[24][26] In January–February 1841, accompanied by Secondary Towns official George Morphett, Hill explored the arid plains due north of Morgan, toward the vicinity of Yunta, searching for a reported fertile region, but found only hardship and disappointment.
John Hill enjoyed high social status in South Australia until 1843, being appointed to grand juries and influential commercial positions, although never holding public office.
Hill died at the Adelaide Hospital on 11 August 1860, aged 50, from an ulcer related condition, and was interred in an unmarked paupers' grave at West Terrace Cemetery.
For well over a century there was much confusion and incorrect attribution among historians concerning his name and achievements until a research paper published in 2013, released as a book in 2015, convincingly identified and documented him.