Alexander Fraser (2 January 1802 – 20 August 1888) was an Australian businessman and politician in colonial

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

. Fraser was born in

Aldourie Aldourie ( meaning ''dark water'' or ''stream water'') is an historic Estate on the east shore of Loch Ness. It lies about southwest of Inverness and is within the council of Highland, Scotland. Aldourie Castle had minor alterations to the din ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

, Scotland, eldest of the ten children of John Fraser, a farmer and Free Church elder, and his wife Ann, ''née'' Fraser. In 1827, Fraser went to London and five years later sailed for Sydney,

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 ...

, in the ''Rubicon''. The ship, however, put in at

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

(then called

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

), and he decided to stay there, which he did until 1852, when he visited Victoria and decided to settle there. Fraser had been interested in pastoral properties in the colony as far back as 1836, and he now started as an auctioneer in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, removing the business to Melbourne in 1853. In October 1858, Fraser was elected to the Legislative Council for the North Western Province, and was Commissioner of Public Works in the Francis Ministry from 14 June 1872 to 4 May 1874, representing the Government in the Council (Upper House). He was principally known as the plaintiff in an action which he brought against ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' (Melbourne) in 1878 for damages for a libel contained in an article reflecting on his conduct towards a deceased brother who had died in England in indigent circumstances. He recovered £250. Fraser died in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

, Australia on 20 August 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Alexander 1802 births 1888 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Politicians from Inverness Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Politicians from the Colony of Victoria