George Robert Nichols (27 September 1809 – 12 September 1857), also known as Bob Nichols, was an Australian politician, 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 1848 and 1856. He was also a member of the inaugural

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 ...

for one term from 1856 until his death.

Early life

Nichols was the second son of

Isaac Nichols Isaac Nichols (29 July 1770 – 18 November 1819) was an English-born Australian farmer, shipowner and public servant who was a convict transported to New South Wales on the Third Fleet, on the Admiral Barrington. He was transported for seven ...

, a former convict who became a successful Sydney businessman and the first postmaster in the colony, and Rosanna Abrahams, daughter of Esther Johnston (also known as

Esther Abrahams Esther Abrahams (born c. 1767 or 1771 – died 26 August 1846) was a Londoner sent to Australia as a convict on the First Fleet. She was de facto wife of George Johnston, who was for six months acting Governor of New South Wales after leading ...

or Esther Julian). Shortly before his father's death in 1819, Bob Nichols was sent to England for an education and returned to Sydney early in 1823. On returning to Australia he worked as an articled clerk until he was admitted as the first native-born Australian solicitor on 1 July 1833. Nichols founded the law firm

Clayton Utz Clayton Utz is an Australian law firm headquartered in Sydney. Established in 1833, it is a large-sized firm, known as one of the big six Australian law firms. The firm is recognised for its litigation practice, government clients, ''pro bono' ...

in February 1833. During this period he was also a journalist and editor of

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian statesman, pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures in colonial New South Wales. He ...

's newspaper ''The Australian''. He was bankrupted in the financial crisis of 1842 but later returned to his legal practice. Nichols was a member of the Parramatta Regional Council, a trustee of

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

and a leading Freemason. Among the pupils articled to Nichols were James Martin (afterwards Premier and Chief Justice of New South Wales) and

Richard Dry Sir Richard Dry, KCMG (20 September 1815 – 1 August 1869) was an Australian politician, the son of United Irish convict, who was Premier of Tasmania from 24 November 1866 until 1 August 1869 when he died in office. Dry was the first Tasmani ...

(afterwards Premier of Tasmania). Nichols was conceded the privilege, enjoyed by no other practitioner of his grade, of appearing professionally in both the superior and inferior courts of the colony.

Political career

In 1848, prior to the establishment of responsible self-government, Nichols was elected to the semi-elected

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. He represented the electorate of Northumberland Boroughs (including Morpeth,

West Maitland Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River, New South Wales, Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New S ...

and

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. The traditional owners and custodians of the Maitland area are the Wonnarua people. Commercial areas Green Hills is a major commercial district called which includes the larg ...

) until the granting of responsible self-government in 1856. At the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

election under the new constitution he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as one of the two members for Northumberland Boroughs and continued to represent the seat until his death on 12 September 1857. Throughout his parliamentary career he was a strong supporter of Wentworth and

William Bland William Bland (5 November 1789 – 21 July 1868) was a prominent public figure in the colony of New South Wales. A surgeon by profession, he arrived in Australia as a convict but played an important role in the early years of Australian health ...

. Nichols served as the

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

and as the

Secretary for Lands and Works The Secretary for Environment and Ecology () of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for environment protection policy in Hong Kong. The position was created most recently in 2007 as the Secretary for the Environment to replace portions of the ...

, the inaugural such roles in the first responsible self-government in New South Wales. He held these positions for 80 days in the government of

Stuart Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales. Early life Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first t ...

Personal life

Nichols married Eliza Boggs on 23 March 1831 and they had son, also called George Robert (1830–1832), and a daughter, Georgiana Eliza (1832–1921). Eliza Boggs died on 16 February 1835 (aged 22). He married Susannah Eliza Barnes on 16 December 1837 and they had a son, Francis Stephen (1840–1893). Susannah Eliza died on 12 November 1846 (aged 30). Nichols married for a third time, this time to 18-year old Eliza Smith on 14 July 1854. He died from

dropsy Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may inclu ...

on 12 September 1857 (aged 47). and was survived by Eliza (who died on 21 July 1863, aged 27) and by two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, George 1809 births 1857 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Australian newspaper editors 19th-century Australian newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers Burials at Rookwood Cemetery 19th-century Australian businesspeople Australian male journalists