John George Aikman (24 June 1858 – 29 July 1928) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Prahran Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population ...

to surveyor Robert Aikman and Ann Davis Woodman. He attended a private school in Brunswick, leaving at the age of twelve to work as a printer's assistant. He then became a draper, co-owning several stores until 1893, when he purchased Richards and Company and Wallachs, a

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

-based firm. On 14 July 1887 he married Alice Jean Semple, with whom he had two sons. He also owned some pastoral land, and served on Essendon Town Council from 1897 to 1908 (mayor from 1898 to 1900) and

Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a population of 149,615. The city's motto is "''vires acquirit eundo''" which ...

from 1904 to 1928 (

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

1919–20). In 1904 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

for

Melbourne West Province Melbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1904 until 2006. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province Melbourne Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia) ...

. A non-

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member, he lost to Labor candidate

Daniel McNamara Daniel Laurence McNamara (28 March 1876 – 28 December 1947) was an Australian politician. He was born at Pomborneit, Victoria, Pomborneit to farmer Michael McNamara and Mary Taff. He worked as a produce agent in Melbourne from 1906 to 190 ...

in 1916 but was returned on petition. He was defeated again in 1922 and left state politics, but remained on Melbourne City Council. Aikman was also involved in sports administration, serving as the inaugural president of the Essendon Town Football Club from its establishment in 1900, then as president of the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

from 1903 until his death in 1928. Aikman died in

Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name ...

in 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikman, John 1858 births 1928 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne VFA/VFL administrators People from Prahran, Victoria 19th-century Australian businesspeople Victoria (state) local councillors 19th-century mayors of places in Australia 20th-century Australian businesspeople People from the Colony of Victoria 20th-century mayors of places in Australia