John Gavan Duffy (15 October 1844 – 8 March 1917) was an Australian politician, member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

Biography

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland to

Charles Gavan Duffy Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), was an Irish poet and journalist (editor of ''The Nation (Irish news ...

(who would later serve as

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

) and Emily McLaughlin, he arrived with his family in

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 ...

in August 1859. After some time on his father's farm he was articled as a clerk to a solicitor. In 1874 he married Margaret Mary Callan, the daughter of his father's first cousin

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, with whom he had five children. He was admitted as a solicitor to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1876. While continuing his legal practice, Duffy was elected to the

as the member for Dalhousie in 1874; he was defeated in 1886 but returned in a by-election in 1887. In 1889 he transferred to the new seat of Kilmore, Dalhousie and Lancefield, which he represented until 1904. He was Victoria's Minister for Agriculture from March to August 1880,

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 ...

from 1890 to 1892,

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from February to April 1892, minister without portfolio from 1892 to 1893, and Postmaster-General again from 1894 to 1899. Duffy died at St Kilda in 1917, and was buried at

St Kilda Cemetery St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria. History St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and cont ...

References

1844 births 1917 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from the Colony of Victoria Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Knights of St. Gregory the Great Australian solicitors Politicians from Melbourne Attorneys-general of the Colony of Victoria Burials at St Kilda Cemetery Attorneys-general of Victoria Postmasters-general of Victoria Commissioners of crown lands and survey (Victoria) {{Australia-politician-stub