John Frazer (politician)
John Frazer | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council | |
| In office 3 November 1874 – 25 October 1884 | |
| Appointed by | Sir Hercules Robinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1827 Dromore, County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 25 October 1884 (aged 57) Edgecliff, Colony of New South Wales |
| Resting place | Rookwood Cemetery |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Ewan |
| Occupation | Politician / Businessman |
John Frazer (1827 – 25 October 1884) was an Irish-born Australian politician and businessman.[1]
Frazer_Family_Vault_Rookwood_Cemetery-1.jpg)
Biography
Frazer was born at Dromore in County Down to John Frazer and Sarah Waddell. He migrated to New South Wales in 1842, becoming first a squatter and then a clerk. In 1847 he opened a grocery in Sydney. He married Elizabeth Ewan, with whom he had four children, in 1853.[1]
Frazer took his brother-in-law into partnership in 1859. In the 1860s he was involved in land speculation and acquired several properties.[2]
In 1862–1863, he was one of four prominent new shareholders that reformed the company operating the Fitzroy Iron Works at Mittagong.[3] After this venture failed, he was instrumental in interesting English capitalists in investing in the Mittagong works.[4] Frazer paid £10,000 to the bank in 1872, clearing the debts of the works. The new company issued its prospectus in April 1873.[5] It was controlled by English interests, with Frazer being a shareholder.
He was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1874 and served there until his death in 1884.[2]
The last twenty years of Frazer's life were spent at Ranelagh, a three-storey, Italianate mansion in Darling Point Road, Darling Point. Ranelagh was demolished in 1967 and replaced with a high-rise apartment block also called Ranelagh.[6]
Frazer and the members of his family were interred in a sandstone mausoleum in Rookwood Cemetery. It was built in 1894 along the lines specified by Frazer before his death. The doors bear his initials and those of his wife: JF and EF.
References
- ^ a b Rutledge, Martha. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 3 January 2018 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ a b "Mr John Frazer (1827-1884)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Hughes, Hughes (1964). The Australian Iron and Steel Industry 1848–1962. Melbourne University Press. p. 7.
- ^ "The Fitzroy iron mines". The Empire. 20 July 1870. p. 2. Retrieved 9 May 2019 – via Trove.
- ^ "The Fitzroy iron works New South Wales". The Tasmanian. 12 April 1873. p. 15 – via Trove.
- ^ "Ranelagh, Darling Point, Sydney, the place & its people". www.auspostalhistory.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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