Sir George Wigram Allen (16 May 1824 – 23 July 1885) was an Australian politician and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He was

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

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 ...

1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he showed dignity, courtesy and ability; it was said of him: 'A man of calm judgment and much practical wisdom'.

Early life

Allen was born in

Surry Hills, New South Wales Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

, the eldest son of George Allen (attorney and solicitor) and his wife Jane, ''née'' Bowden. He was educated under

William Timothy Cape William Timothy Cape (25 October 1806 – 4 June 1863) was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the Premier of New South Wales, Premiers of New South Wales attended his school. Cape was born at Walworth, London, Walworth, S ...

and at Sydney College, where he showed ability in classics and mathematics. In 1841, Allen was articled to his father and he became a solicitor in 1846.

Legal career

The following year Allen entered a partnership with his father as a solicitor and today that firm is known as Allens and is the oldest in Australia. He was also a director of many public companies including the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

Public office

In 1859 Allen became the first chairman and mayor of the

Municipality of The Glebe A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

, a position he held until 1877. He was appointed a commissioner of national education in 1853 and held the position until 1867 and was nominated to 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 ...

in 1860 and remained there until May 1861. In 1869 Allen was elected a member of the

for

Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...

, and from December 1873 to February 1875 was Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in the first ministry of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...

. In the following March he was elected

and remained in that position until January 1883. Allen retired from politics in August 1883 and died suddenly on 23 July 1885.

Marriage

Allen married Marian Boyce (1835–1914), eldest daughter of the Rev. William Boyce, in July 1851 and they lived at ''Strathmore'', opposite his father's home Toxteth Park. In 1881 they moved to ''Toxteth Park'' having added a third storey, a tower and various embellishments such as a ballroom. The Allens entertained there on a grand scale. Lady Allen was an active charitable worker. She was involved with the boarding out of orphan children from the Benevolent Asylum and was a co-founder of the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (CHW; formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal ...

. The marriage produced six sons and four daughters.

Honours

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1877. In 1884 he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, George Wigram 1824 births 1885 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of Newington College Council Australian Methodists Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Lawyers from Sydney 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of The Glebe Ministers for justice (New South Wales) Ministers for education (New South Wales)