James Watson (17 December 1837 – 30 October 1907) was an Australian politician,

Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

1878 to 1883.

Early life

Watson was born at

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, in

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, Ireland, and educated at the Church of England school in his native town. He emigrated to 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 ...

early in life, and engaged in mercantile pursuits, initially in partnership with his brothers at Lambing Flat (

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

). Provisions for their store were obtained from John Frazer & Co., a partnership between John Frazer and his brother in law James Ewan. Frazer retired from the running of the business in 1869 and Watson joined Ewan as a partner in the firm. On 8 April 1871 Watson married Margaret Salmon Ewan, another of Ewan's sisters.

Political career

He was a candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of The Lachlan, which included the town of Young, at the election in December 1869, serving until 1880 when the district was abolished. He initially supported the ministry of James Martin, before becoming a supporter 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 1872. He remained independent however and vigorously pursued Parkes'

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, George Lloyd, in parliament in relation to the lease of

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and voted against Parkes in relation to the release of the

bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in The bush#Australia, the Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia ...

Frank Gardiner Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1882) was an Australian bushranger who became notorious for his lead role in the largest gold heist in Australian history, at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. Gardiner and Gardiner-Hall gang, his gang, which in ...

. The censure motion was defeated only by the casting vote of the

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, however it brought about the downfall of the Parkes government. He declined a position in the fourth Robertson ministry. Watson was Colonial Treasurer in the third Parkes ministry from December 1878 to January 1883. The district of The Lachlan was abolished in the 1880 redistribution, and Watson chose to contest the new 2 member district of Young. He was successful at the election in November 1880, serving with the unrelated

William Watson William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to: Arts * William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter * William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet * William J. Watson (author) (1865-1948), Scott ...

, but was defeated at the election for Young in December 1882, and 5 days later was unsuccessful in contesting

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

. He was returned to the Legislative Assembly at the Gundagai by-election in April 1884 serving until parliament was dissolved in October 1885, but did stand at the 1885 election. In February 1887 was appointed 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 ...

Later life and death

Margaret was unwell and they visited England, however Margaret died shortly after their return in 1886. Ewan and Watson liquidated the firm of John Frazer & Co. in 1891, with "all the partners retiring on fairly ample fortunes". In 1897 Watson became a director of the

Australian Joint Stock Bank The Australian Joint Stock Bank was a bank in Australia. It operated from 1852 to 1910, after which it became the Australian Bank of Commerce and then was taken over by the Bank of New South Wales in 1931. History The Australian Joint Stock Ba ...

. He died at his home in Glanworth,

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on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, James 1837 births 1907 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Treasurers of New South Wales 19th-century Australian politicians