Jonathan Seaver

Jonathan Charles Billing Pockerage Seaver (born 7 June 1855, date of death unknown) was an Irish-born Australian politician, engineer and surveyor.

Mr Jonathan Seaver MLA for Gloucester

He was born at Kingstown near Dublin, the eldest son of Thomas Seaver and arrived in Victoria around 1857. At sixteen he became a tutor and after an abortive attempt at a church career worked as an engineer and surveyor.[1] He traveled widely, spending some time in Adelaide, where he married Mary Robinson née Abbbott on 22 November 1880,[2] before settling in Gloucester. In 1887 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the Free Trade member for Gloucester and retained the seat in 1889. In May 1891 four free traders, Seaver, George Reid, Jack Want and John Haynes, voted against the fifth Parkes Ministry in a motion of no confidence, which was only defeated by the casting vote of the Speaker.[3] Whilst the government survived the motion, parliament was dissolved on 6 June 1891. Such was Seaver's animosity to Sir Henry Parkes, he did not contest Gloucester, but instead contested St Leonards, stating that his sole reason was opposing Parkes.[4] His opposition was ineffective however as Parkes topped the poll, while Seaver finished a distant last.[5]

Seaver left Sydney with his family on the R.M.S. Australia in August 1896 bound for London.[6] Little is known about his subsequent life.[1] It is possible that he died in Mexico in 1928 however this is not confirmed by a reliable source.

References
  1. "Mr Jonathan Charles Billing Pockerage Seaver (1855- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. "Marriage: Seaver-Robinson". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 11 December 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via Trove. Note his third middle name is spelt Pockrich.
  3. "Legislative Assembly: The want of confidence motion". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via Trove.
  4. "St Leonards: Mr Seaver's candidature". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 June 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via Trove.
  5. Green, Antony. "1891 St Leonards". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. "The mail steamers". The Daily Telegraph. 4 August 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via Trove.

 

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