John MacGregor (1828 – 27 March 1884) was a politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a States and territories of Australia, state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), ...

, and Minister of Mines. MacGregor was the son of John Macgregor, and was born in the island of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

, Scotland. He arrived in Victoria in 1840, was admitted a solicitor of the Supreme Court in 1855, and practised 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 what was latterly the firm of MacGregor, Ramsay, & Brahe. MacGregor unsuccessfully contested East Bourke in 1856 and 1861, but after the retirement of

Wilson Gray Moses Wilson Gray, known as Wilson Gray (1813 – 4 April 1875) was an Irish-born barrister, member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and district judge in New Zealand. Gray born in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland, the son of John Gray a ...

in September 1862 MacGregor was returned for Rodney, for which district he sat in 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 ...

till March 1874, when he retired from Parliament. MacGregor joined the first

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893) was a British colonial politician and statesman who served as the fifth premier of Victoria over four non-consecutive terms from 1863 to 1868, 1868 to 1869, 1870 to 1871 and 1875 to 18 ...

Government, and was Minister of Mines from July 1866 to May 1868. On the defeat of the

John Alexander MacPherson John Alexander MacPherson (15 October 1833 – 17 February 1894), Australian colonial politician, was the 7th Premier of Victoria. MacPherson was born at his father's property of ''Springbank'' on the Limestone Plains, in New South Wales (t ...

Ministry in April 1870 MacGregor was asked by the Governor to form a Government, but he recommended that Sir James McCulloch should be sent for. MacGregor brought in, and for the first time carried, a Payment of Members Bill. He had long retired from public life when he died on 27 March 1884 at his home in Gipps street,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

, Victoria. He built up a substantial collection of books during his lifetime. His library contained around 10,000 volumes and when it was sold in 1884 it was described as the, “largest private library which has yet been brought to the hammer in this colony.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, John Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-presidents of the Board of Land and Works 1828 births 1884 deaths Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia People from the Isle of Skye 19th-century Australian politicians Australian book and manuscript collectors Ministers of railways (Victoria) Ministers of mines (Victoria)