William Rounsevell (c. 1816 – 5 October 1874)[1] was a businessman of Cornish origins who founded a livery stable and mail coach business in the early years of colonial South Australia.
[3] While still working as a policeman for the South Australia Company, he purchased land on Pirie Street, Adelaide, where he established a stables and horse letting business, then in 1852 tried his luck at the Victorian gold diggings.
[2] He was a ruthless operator, taking over profitable routes by buying up competitors who were prepared to sell, and driving others out of business by providing extras such as breakfasts and undercutting their fares to the point, if necessary, of running a free service.
[5] The office he set up in Ackland Street passed to Cobb & Co., then served for their successors John Hill & Co. Ltd., Graves, Hill & Co., and finally Fewster & Co.[6] To provide feed for the horses, Rounsevell grew hay in various locations around Adelaide, the most productive of which was some 400 acres (160 ha) at Glenside on the site later to become the Parkside Lunatic Asylum.
Among the grasses grown were perennial ryegrass and ribleaf or lamb's tongue, now both endemic weeds, which he may have been responsible for introducing to South Australia.