Joseph Creer (1 February 183217 August 1913) was a Manx-born Australian politician and cabinetmaker.

Early life

He was born on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

to farmer Patrick Creer and Ann Quirk. He married Annie Harrison at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1854; they had nine children. In 1855 he migrated to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, settling in

Maitland Maitland may refer to: Places *Maitland, New South Wales, Australia **City of Maitland, a local government area * Maitland, South Australia, Australia * Maitland, Tasmania, Australia * Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada * Maitland, Ontari ...

, where he worked as a builder and broom manufacturer. He left Maitland due to flooding and moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

in 1870, working as a cabinet maker, until his business was destroyed by fire. He then established a successful business as an auctioneer. He was a prominent member of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

in Newcastle, and was appointed a magistrate in 1880.

Civic and political career

In 1867 he was elected an alderman of the Borough of West Maitland. He was defeated in February 1869, but re-elected to a casual vacancy in April 1869. He was first elected an alderman for Newcastle in 1875, serving until 1887, including as Mayor of Newcastle in 1881. In 1885 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 ...

as one of the members for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

on a protectionist platform. An independent protectionist when political parties emerged in 1887, he joined the

Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...

in 1889 and held his seat until his defeat in 1891. He did not hold any ministerial or parliamentary office.

Later life and death

Creer was appointed superintendent of the government labour bureau in 1892, holding the position for ten years until 1901 when he was appointed a Labour Commissioner, before retiring in 1902 when he went on a trip to Europe and North America. He moved to Summer Hill on his return, where he died in 1913 (aged 82).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creer, Joseph 1832 births 1913 deaths Colony of New South Wales politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Protectionist Party politicians Mayors and lord mayors of Newcastle