Alexander Fyfe (1826 – 2 May 1903) was a Scottish-born settler of

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 ...

, Australia, who became a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

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 ...

and the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

Early life

Fyfe was born in Scotland. Fyfe emigrated to Australia, arriving in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in January 1848 aboard the ''Stag'' and settled in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. He married Jane Nicholson Bailliff in 1854. In Geelong, he was involved in the establishment of the: * first

building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization, which offers banking institution, banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage loan, mortgage lending. They exist in the Unit ...

* the first bathing house * the Geelong

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

* the

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

* a newspaper * the Mechanic's Institute * the first

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

(he owned four full-rigged vessels and chartered eleven more) He was president of the: * Mechanic's Institute * the first cricket club in Victoria * Geelong Agricultural Society and a director/trustee of: * the

Geelong Botanic Gardens The Geelong Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden in the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The gardens are located within Eastern Park on the eastern outskirts of the central business district. They were established in ...

* the

Flinders State School Matthew Flinders Girls' Secondary College is an all-girls State secondary school located in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It provides education for students from years 7–12. History The school opened as Flinders National Grammar School in Ja ...

* the Geelong-Melbourne railway and captain of the first volunteer regiment. Alexander Fyfe was one of the first gold diggers at

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

. He was secretary of the Anti-Gold License Committee and contributed to legal expenses of the trial of

Peter Lalor Peter Fintan Lalor ( ); 5 February 1827 – 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician, who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event identified with the "birth of democracy" in Austra ...

, the leader of the

Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British administration of the Victoria (Australia)#Colonial Victoria, colony of Victoria, History of Au ...

Politics

Fyfe was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for

in June 1854, a position he held until the original Council was abolished in 1856. Fyfe was elected to the inaugural Victorian Legislative Assembly as one of the four members for

in November 1856, a seat he held until resigning in November 1857 due to insolvency. Fyfe moved to Queensland where he purchased a pastoral property from P. F. MacDonald near

Peak Downs Peak Downs is a geographic area, and formerly a station, in the vicinity of Clermont, Central Queensland. In the 1860s and 1870s the area was known as "the Peak Downs". The morphology of this region consisted of numerous distinct peaks of bas ...

and became a pastoralist and auctioneer. He represented

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

in the

from 20 June 1870 to 24 November 1873.Fyfe, Alexander

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the state Legislative Assembly, with the governo ...

. Retrieved 13 February 2015.

Latter life

Fyfe returned to Melbourne around 1873 and died in

Preston, Victoria Preston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, central business district, located within the City of Darebin Local government areas of Victoria, local ...

on 2 May 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fyfe, Alexander 1826 births 1903 deaths History of Victoria (state) Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Australian auctioneers 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople