William Munnings Arnold

The Hon. William Munnings Arnold (10 October 1819 – 1 March 1875) was an Australian politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1856 until his death. He held numerous ministerial positions between 1860 and 1865 including Secretary for Public Works] and Secretary for Lands. He was the Speaker between 1865 and 1875.

The Honourable
William Arnold
William Munnings Arnold, MLA, c1872
William Munnings Arnold, MLA, NSW, c1872
Secretary for Public Works
In office
9 March 1860 – 15 October 1863
Preceded byGeoffrey Eagar
Succeeded byArthur Holroyd
Secretary for Public Works
In office
3 February 1865 – 19 October 1865
Preceded byArthur Holroyd
Succeeded byThomas Smart
Secretary for Lands
In office
20 October 1865 – 31 October 1865
Preceded byJohn Robertson
Succeeded byJohn Robertson
1st Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
In office
1 November 1865 – 1 March 1875
Preceded byJohn Hay
Succeeded byGeorge Allen
Personal details
Born(1819-10-26)26 October 1819
Ellough, Suffolk, England
Died1 March 1875(1875-03-01) (aged 55)
Paterson, New South Wales

Early life

Arnold was born in the village of Ellough in Suffolk, England and was the son of an Anglican clergyman. He was educated at home and then at private schools in Lowestoft and High Wycombe. Arnold migrated to Australia in 1839 and made a substantial fortune from investments in the pastoral industry and gold trading. He invested in a number of large properties on the Paterson River in which he drowned during major flooding in 1875.[1]

State Parliament

Arnold was elected at the 1856 election to the first parliament of New South Wales after the granting of responsible government. With Richard Jones and Samuel Gordon, he was elected to the three member seat of Durham.[2] He retained this seat until 1859 and then represented the seat of Paterson until his death.[3] He was noted for his radically democratic views on electoral reform including universal manhood suffrage and the distribution of electorates based on population.[4]

Government

Arnold was appointed to the position of Secretary for Public Works in the first ministry of John Robertson,[5] and the third and fourth ministries of Charles Cowper. He also served briefly as Secretary for Lands in Cowper's fourth government.[4]

Speakership

Arnold served as the Assembly's fourth Speaker between 1865 and 1875. He was noted for his objectivity and fairness as speaker and his decisions were rarely questioned by either the government or opposition.[4]

References
  1. King, C J. "Arnold, William Munnings (1819 - 1875)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  2. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Durham". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  3. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Paterson". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. "Mr William Munnings Arnold". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Arnold, Hon. William Munnings" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.

 

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