Alexander Kethel (2 November 1832 – 23 June 1916) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and timber merchant.

Early life

He was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to carpenter William Kethel and Mary Watson. After a limited education, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and then went to sea, travelling in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

before jumping ship in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1853. After working on coastal vessels and in the Victorian goldfields, he returned to Sydney to work at John Booth's sawmill, promoted to foreman and one of three partners leasing the business from 1870. In 1861 he married Mary Ann Yeates; they had seven children. He faced a number of set backs, having been shipwrecked 3 times, then the sawmill burnt down in 1874. It was as a wholesale timber merchant that he prospered, becoming a

wharfinger Wharfinger (pronounced ''wor-fin-jer)'' is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger takes custody of and is responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically has an office on the wharf or dock, and ...

, leasing the market wharf in Sydney. moving into coastal shipping, including as a ship owner. In 1888 he had a Grand Victorian mansion built on the corner of Glebe Point and Wigram Roads in Glebe which he named Ben Ledi, after

the mountain The Mountain () was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. The term, first used during a session of the Legislative Assembly, came into ge ...

near his birthplace in Scotland.

Political career

He was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

in 1885 for West Sydney. Re-elected as a

Free Trader Free Trader was a political label used in the United Kingdom by several candidates in the 1906 general election and January 1910 general election. Many were Conservative Party or Liberal Unionist politicians opposed to Joseph Chamberlain's campai ...

in 1887, he did not re-contest in 1889. In 1892 he was appointed to a

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

, along with William Owen and

John Young John Young most commonly refers to: *John Young (astronaut) (1930–2018), American astronaut * John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar (1807–1876), British diplomat and politician John Young may also refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) ...

, to inquire into charges made by

William Schey William Francis Schey (1857–1913) was an Australian politician. Early life Schey was born in England and educated in London. After a short time in New Zealand, Schey arrived in Sydney as first mate of a ship in 1875. After tiring of work on ...

against Edward Eddy, the Chief Commissioner of Railways. In 1895 he was appointed to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

, where he remained until his death. He did not hold ministerial or parliamentary office.

Death

His son was the architect

Joseph Alexander Kethel Joseph Alexander Kethel (31 January 1866 – 29 April 1946) was an Australians, Australian architect notable for the many substantial private residences and pastoral homesteads he designed throughout New South Wales and the striking theatres, ...

. He died at Castle Hill on , survived by two sons and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kethel, Alexander 1832 births 1916 deaths Colony of New South Wales politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Free Trade Party politicians