Hugh Fraser (1837 – 10 November 1900) was a politician of Scottish birth in the Colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

History

Hugh Fraser was born in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Scotland, a son of John Fraser (died 20 October 1882), emigrated to South Australia with four brothers in 1863, and went to work at the slate mines in

Mintaro Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about north of Adelaide, South Australia. The town lies at the south-eastern corner of the Hundred of Clare, within the Clare Valley wine region. Established ...

. He later started his own slate quarry, then moved to Adelaide to act as manager for the Delabole Slate Company, which he took over when it got into financial difficulties. He reversed the company's fortunes and later ran a marble masonry business on the corner of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

and Bentham Streets.

Politics

Fraser won the seat of West Adelaide in 1878 as a Protectionist, with

W. K. Simms William Knox Simms (1830 – 25 December 1897) was a brewer, businessman and politician in the early days of South Australia. History Simms migrated to South Australia from England, arriving in December 1845. He formed a partnership with John ...

as his junior colleague. He was successful again in 1881, with

C. C. Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly w ...

as his running mate. This partnership again went to the polls in 1887, but Fraser was defeated by A. A. Fox, his stronger showing being overcome by a splitting of votes. He subsequently stood for the seat of Stanley, but failed; attributable said some, to the enmity the Press felt when the "wily, obstinate, pertinacious, rugged, blunt, eloquent Scotchman" spoke in favour of removing postage privileges that newspapers then enjoyed. :"Hugh Fraser's parliamentary monument was the imposition of postage upon newspapers; it brought the State a revenue of £8,000 a year straightaway; and it proved a veritable parliamentary tombstone to the author, for he never recovered from the unpopularity it won for him. and his public career was thenceforward dead"

Other interests

Fraser had a deep love for Scottish culture. He could recite much of

Burns Burns may refer to: Astronomy * 2708 Burns, an asteroid * Burns (crater), on Mercury People * Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns ** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer Places in the United States * Burns, ...

by heart, was one of the founders of the South Australian Caledonian Society, and held the office of Chief 1891–1892. He was a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and

Oddfellow Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in London. ...

, and a member of other friendly societies. He was appointed Justice of the Peace.

Family

Hugh married Jane Ann Ferrie (ca.1840 – 13 April 1892). He married again, to Mary Drummond on 1 February 1896. Children by his first marriage included *eldest daughter Isabella Fraser (died 22 May 1894) married James Rowett on 19 December 1886 *fourth daughter Lizzie Ferrie Fraser married John Binnie on 21 November 1894 *youngest daughter Sarah Fraser married Robert Binnie on 25 November 1891. Hugh died at his home "Maesbury House" in Chapel Street,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Hugh 1837 births 1900 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Colony of South Australia people