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Edward Flood (24 June 1805 – 9 September 1888) was an Australian politician. He was a member of 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 ...
between 1851 and 1856 and again from 1879 until his death. He was also a member of 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 ...
between 1856 and 1872. He was the first Secretary for Public Works in New South Wales.


Early life

Flood was the illegitimate son of an Irish convict. He had minimal formal education but became an apprentice carpenter and builder. By 1840 he had become extremely wealthy and had acquired a large amount of city property and pastoral interests including Narrandera Station and property on the
Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...
. He also owned wool stores at
Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...
, a wool pressing company and flour mills. He was a foundation alderman of
Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, the City of Sydney is ...
and was a supporter of the Benevolent Society.


State Parliament

In 1851, prior to the establishment of responsible self-government, Flood was elected to the semi-elected Legislative Council. He represented the electorate of North-Eastern Boroughs until the granting of responsible self-government in 1856. At the first election under the new constitution he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for the same seat. At the next election in
1858 Events January–March * January 9 ** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong. ** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. * January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...
he transferred to the two-member Sydney seat of Cumberland (South Riding). This seat was subsequently renamed
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
at the 1859 election and Flood retained it until he resigned in January 1860 apparently after a heated dispute with the Premier, William Forster. He subsequently re-entered the Assembly after winning the seat of Central Cumberland at the 1869–70 election. He did not willingly contest the
1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...
election although he was nominated for the electorate of Newtown. In 1879 he accepted a life appointment to the Legislative Council, which he retained until his death. Flood was politically radical and opposed the re-introduction of transportation and the autocratic powers of the Governors prior to the granting of responsible government. He was socially conservative and had a reputation of being a tough businessman who objected to the level of wages demanded by labourers in the colony. His support of Protestantism alienated many in the colony's large Irish community.


Government

Flood's only ministerial appointment was as Secretary for Public Works in the second government of
Charles Cowper Sir Charles Cowper (), (26 April 1807 – 19 October 1875) was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five occasions from 1856 to 1870. Cowper did useful work but does not rank among the more distinguished Australian ...
. He was appointed on 1 October 1859 but his appointment was curtailed by the fall of Cowper's government 26 days later. William Forster believed that Cowper had created the position and appointed Flood in an unsuccessful attempt to strengthen his parliamentary position.


References

  {{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Edward 1805 births 1888 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Colony of New South Wales politicians