William Stephen (Australian politician)

William Stephen (1829 – 28 December 1913) was an Irish-born Australian politician.

Early life and career

He was born in County Cavan to farmer James Stephen and Jane Smith. He and his family moved to Australia in 1848, and after unsuccessful attempts at mining in New South Wales and Victoria he settled in Sydney as a gardener and fruitgrower. On 14 April 1857 he married Mary Montgomery, with whom he had seven children. After converting the swamps around Botany Bay into fertile land, he established a business in woolscouring and fellmongering.[1]

Political career

Stephen attempted to enter the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the district of Redfern at the by-election in March 1886 but was defeated by Arthur Renwick.[2] The following year he joined the newly created Free Trade Party of Sir Henry Parkes and was elected 3rd of 4 free trade members for Redfern, defeating the Protectionist Party candidates, including Renwick. He managed to hold his seat at the 1989 election, despite the resurgent Protectionist Party taking 2 of the 4 seats.[2] He was defeated in 1891 with the emergence of Labor as a political force in NSW.[2] Multi-member electorates were abolished in the 1893 redistribution,[3] and Stephen stood as an independent free trade candidate for the new district of Botany at the election in July 1894. Defeated in 1895, he unsuccessfully contested Botany again in 1898 and 1901.[4] He did not hold any ministerial or party position.

In 1901 was elected Mayor of Botany, serving for one year.[5] He died at Botany on 28 December 1913 (aged 84).[1][6]

References
  1. "Mr William Stephen (1829-1913)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Redfern". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  3. "1893 Redistribution". Atlas of New South Wales. NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015.
  4. Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Botany". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  5. "Borough of Botany". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 145. 22 February 1901. p. 1427. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via Trove.
  6. "A Botany Pioneer". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via Trove.

 


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