George Paton Smith

George Paton Smith (1829 – 9 December 1877) was a politician and Attorney-General of Victoria.[1]

Smith was born at Berwick-on-Tweed, England, son of James Smith and Jessie née Paton.[2] In 1855 he emigrated to Victoria, Australia and started as a draper in Sandhurst (now Bendigo).[1] In 1858 he relinquished business, and took employment in Melbourne as a reporter on The Argus. The next year he became editor of the Leader, the weekly journal published in connection with the The Age and of the latter paper was subsequently sub-editor and, for a short time, editor.[1]

Whilst engaged as a journalist, Smith was admitted to the Victorian Bar in September 1861, and in 1865 was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for South Bourke as a Liberal and Protectionist.[1] From July 1868 to September 1869 Smith was Attorney-General in the second James McCulloch Ministry, but at the General Election in January 1871 he did not seek re-election for South Bourke.[1] On 17 May 1870 a disgruntled Irish-born previous employee at The Age, Gerald Supple, shot Smith in La Trobe Street, inflicting a wound to Smith's elbow and killing a bystander.[3] In 1874, Smith was again returned unopposed, and sat till 1877, when the constituency was divided, and Smith was returned for the Boroondara portion. Smith died on 9 December 1877.[1]