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Robert Wisdom (politician)

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Not to be confused with Robert Wisdom.

Sir Robert Wisdom, KCMG, QC (31 January 1830 – 16 March 1888) was a politician in colonial New South Wales and Attorney General of New South Wales.[1]

Early life and education

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Wisdom was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and arrived in Australia in 1834 with his parents, moving to Morpeth in the Hunter Valley.[2] He was educated at Maitland and at the Sydney College.[2] In November 1858 he was appointed a clerk of petty sessions at Stoney Creek,[3][a] before being appointed a sub-commissioner of gold fields,[4] and a magistrate.[5]

Political career

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In 1859 he resigned his office as gold commissioner in order to stand as a candidate for the new district of Goldfields West, where he was elected at Sofala on a show of hands,[6] and was easily re-elected at the 1860 election.[7] On 26 October 1861 he was admitted to the Colonial Bar. He was chairman of committees from 1861 until 1864, a position that carried a salary of £500, but declined ministerial appointments in the third ministry of Charles Cowper and a proposed ministry of William Forster.[1] He switched to the district of The Lower Hunter, winning the seat at the 1864 election and holding it at the 1869 election.[8] He was also elected to Goldfields North, but resigned to represent The Lower Hunter.[9] He was defeated in 1872,[8] becoming a Crown Prosecutor in 1873.[2][10]

Parliament was dissolved in November 1874 and Wisdom agreed to be a candidate for the district of Morpeth,[11] winning the seat in 1874.[12] He was appointed a member of the Council of Education 1878.[1] In March 1875 Wisdom was nominated to be the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly but was defeated by a single vote.[13] After declining numerous offers of ministerial positions,[14] he agreed to be Attorney General in the Third ministry of Sir Henry Parkes from August 1879 to January 1883.[2][15] He personally prosecuted the Watabadgery bushrangers, Captain Moonlite and Thomas Rogan, which drew praise from the Bulletin for his forensic skills.[16] In 1885 he was involved in an altercation with David Buchanan, initially exchanging insults before Wisdom struck Buchanan in the face.[1][17] He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1886,[18] and decided not to contest the 1887 election.[1]

He was appointed to the Legislative Council in February 1887, shortly before leaving for England with Sir Patrick Jennings as one of the delegates of New South Wales, to the first Colonial Conference.[2] Returning to New South Wales as Sir Robert, he did not take his seat in the Legislative Council before he died on 16 March 1888(1888-03-16) (aged 58).[1][15]

Honours

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Wisdom was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in April 1887.[19]

Notes

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  1. ^ It is unclear which Stoney Creek was referred to, it may have been the police district near Molong or the gold field near Burrendong

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Guilford, Elizabeth. "Wisdom, Sir Robert (1830–1888)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Mennell, Philip (1892). "Wisdom, Hon. Sir Robert" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ "Appointment of Robert Wisdom to be a clerk of Petty Sessions". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 190. 23 November 1858. p. 1963. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Gold Fields". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 198. 30 November 1858. p. 2105. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Appointment of Robert Wisdom as a Magistrate". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 210. 14 December 1858. p. 2206. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Western gold-fields election". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 June 1859. p. 5. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1860 Goldfields West". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Lower Hunter". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  9. ^ Green, Antony. "1870 Goldfields North by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Tamworth circuit court". The Evening News. 6 October 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "To Robert Wisdom esq". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 15 December 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  12. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Morpeth". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Legislative Assembly: election of speaker". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 March 1875. p. 4. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "The New Attorney-General— Hon. Robert Wisdom". Australian Town and Country Journal. 23 August 1879. p. 17. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  15. ^ a b "Sir Robert Wisdom KCMG, QC (1830-1888)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  16. ^ "The Hon. Robert Wisdom, Attorney-General". the Bulletin. Vol. 4, no. 40. 30 October 1880. p. 2. ISSN 0007-4039. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  17. ^ "Gross disorder in the Legislative Assembly". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1884. p. 11. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via Trove.
  18. ^ "NSW senior counsel appointments". NSW Bar Association. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  19. ^ "No. 25694". The London Gazette. 22 April 1887. p. 2252.

 

Parliament of New South Wales
Political offices
Preceded by Attorney General
1879 – 1883 		Succeeded by
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New seat Member for Goldfields West
1859–1864 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Lower Hunter
1869–1872 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Goldfields North
1870–1870 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Morpeth
1874–1887 		Succeeded by
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