John Fitzgerald Burns (1833 – 19 March 1911) was an Australian politician, member of the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

in the 1870s and Colonial Treasurer in the 1880s. Burns was born in the north of Ireland, and emigrated to

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 ...

at an early age. In 1854 he married Lucy Maria Smith at

Maitland Maitland may refer to: Places *Maitland, New South Wales, Australia **City of Maitland, a local government area * Maitland, South Australia, Australia * Maitland, Tasmania, Australia * Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada * Maitland, Ontari ...

. Having engaged in mercantile pursuits in the Hunter River district, Burns was elected to the Legislative Assembly for

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

at a by-election in 1861, holding the seat until his defeat in the 1869 election. He was unsuccessful at the 1870 Goldfields North by-election, but was elected for Hunter in the 1872 election. He was

in the third Robertson ministry from February 1875 to March 1877 and in the

Farnell ministry The Farnell ministry was the eighteenth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by James Farnell. Farnell was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1860. The eighth parliament had been a challenging environ ...

from December 1877 to December 1878. He introduced postal cards into Australia in 1875, and was the first to give employment to women in the telegraph department. In 1878 he arranged with the Governments of the other Australian colonies and New Zealand for the duplication of the submarine cable to Australia. Burns was Colonial Treasurer in the fifth Robertson ministry from December 1885 to February 1886. In January 1887 Burns was appointed Colonial Treasurer in the fourth ministry of Sir

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 ...

, serving until January 1889. On 21 January 1887 his seat in the Legislative Assembly was declared vacant because of his acceptance of the position of Treasurer and he was summoned to the

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 ...

for the purpose of taking charge of the supply bill as the Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council. He took his seat in the council which passed the supply bill. A general election was called and Burns resigned from the council to re-contest the Hunter. 1887 was the first election in which political parties emerged. Burns, as a member of the Parkes government, stood as a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

candidate and was re-elected unopposed at the 1887 election for The Hunter. He held the seat until 1889. Burns switched to St Leonards for the 1889 election when it was expanded to return 3 members, and was the third member elected. He was narrowly defeated in the 1891 election. In the 1894 election for Willoughby he stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

free trade candidate, but was unsuccessful, receiving only 86 votes (4.53%). He was gazetted a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1887, but declined the honour, and the appointment was cancelled. Burns died in

Paddington, New South Wales Paddington is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Located east of the Sydney central business district, Paddington lies across two Local government in Australia, local government areas. The portion south of Oxford St ...

, on 19 March 1911 (aged 78). He is buried in

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, John Fitzgerald 1833 births 1911 deaths Colony of New South Wales politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Treasurers of New South Wales Burials at Waverley Cemetery Postmasters-general of New South Wales