Allen Lakeman (1847–9 – 7 May 1910) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician who was one of two parliamentary members for the New South Wales electorate of Balranald from February 1887 to June 1891. Lakeman operated various businesses at Hay and was prominent in local affairs, serving as an alderman and mayor from 1880 to 1882.

Biography

Early years

Allen Lakeman was born in about 1847–9 at

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

, in the

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

region of New Zealand's North Island, the son of William Lakeman and Martha (''née'' Allen). His father was a storekeeper. The Lakeman family left New Zealand for the colony of

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 ...

when Allen was an infant.Obituary: Mr. Allen Lakeman
''Narandera Argus and Riverine Advertiser'', 13 May 1910, page 5. The family lived at

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

and later at

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

.Allen Lakeman
by J. Pen, ''Riverine Grazier'' (Hay), 20 May 1910, page 2.

Hay

In February 1869 it was reported that James Pollard's store-keeping business at Hay, on the

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

, had been sold to James Warby, a store-owner at

and Lakeman's brother-in-law. In May 1870 Pollard sold his steamer, the ''J.H.P.'', to Warby. Lakeman began working as the supercargo aboard the ''J.H.P.'', delivering goods to settlements along the Murrumbidgee River. At about this time Lakeman began living at Hay. By 1872 Lakeman was working as the manager of Warby's store at Hay. Allen Lakeman and Mary Ellen Cochran were married at Hay on 3 March 1873. The couple had twelve children. In August 1872 Lakeman was elected as an auditor for the Hay Municipal Council. Lakeman became an alderman in 1875. In March 1874 Warby retired from business and his store was taken over by the partnership of Pollard and Saunders. Lakeman joined with Thomas Blewett as a partner in the storekeeping business of Blewett and Co., becoming manager of the extensive store in Lachlan Street at Hay. In about 1879 Blewett left Hay for Melbourne, after which Lakeman took over the business on his own account. From about 1879 Lakeman was a partner in a coaching business, Lakeman, Halbisch and Co., operating mail and passenger coaches between Wagga Wagga and Hay via Narrandera.Mr. Allen Lakeman...
''Wagga Wagga Advertiser'', 12 May 1910, page 3. In February 1880, at a special meeting of Hay Municipal Council, Lakeman was elected mayor "for the ensuing municipal year". He was re-elected as mayor for 1881. John Witcombe and Lakeman were both contenders for the Hay Municipal Council mayoral election held in February 1882. Lakeman was elected, but Witcombe "took an action to the Supreme Court to oust Lakeman from the office, on the ground of some technical informality". The Court declared the election "null and void". After the decision was handed down, the Hay Council, "with all due formality, elected Lakeman to the position from which he had been ousted". In 1882 Lakeman established the Black Horse Brewery at South Hay. In the late 1880s Lakeman was in partnership with James Bowes in a business as commission and land agents. The partnership continued until Bowes' death in March 1889.

Member for Balranald

Lakeman decided to contest the New South Wales elections of 1887 for the Balranald electorate, which at that time returned two members. Three candidates were nominated including one of the sitting members, Robert Wilkinson, who was a free trade supporter. Lakeman campaigned as a supporter of

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

. At the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

held in February 1887 Lakeman was elected as one of the two members to represent the Balranald electorate in 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 ...

, together with Wilkinson who was re-elected. Lakeman topped the poll with 946 votes (or 40.4 percent). Both Lakeman and Wilkinson were re-elected unopposed at the New South Wales election of February 1889. By the late 1890s Lakeman and his family were living at Manly, but Lakeman continued to visit and maintain business interests in the western Riverina. Four candidates were nominated for the Balranald electorate at the election of 1891: Lakeman and another Hay resident

James Newton James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...

(both of them supporters of

), as well as the other sitting member Robert Wilkinson. The fourth candidate, A.L.P. Cameron, was also a protectionist. There were early attempts to persuade both Lakeman and Newton to run together to take advantage of the strong support for protectionism in the electorate. However Lakeman decided to run on his own, fearing that Newton's "connection with the Carriers' Union would lead to the estrangement of landholders' votes in the Booligal, Mossgiel, New South Wales, and Hillston districts".Death of an Old Resident: Mr. Jas. Newton
''Riverine Grazier'' (Hay), 16 September 1913, page 2. At the

held in June and early July 1891 Lakeman lost his seat. Newton was elected as one of the two members to represent the electoral district of Balranald, together with the free-trade candidate Wilkinson, who was re-elected. With the protectionist vote being split three ways, Lakeman received 650 votes (or 23.9 percent), whereas Newton topped the poll with 828 votes (or 30.5 percent).Balranald – 1891
'New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007', ''Parliament of New South Wales'' website; accessed 11 May 2025.

Later years

After his defeat at the 1891 election Lakeman continued in the profession of a commission and land agent for the rest of his life. Allen Lakeman died of a brain haemorrhage on 7 May 1910 at

Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

Notes

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakeman, Allen 1849 births 1910 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Protectionist Party politicians