John Thomas Campbell (1770–1830) was a public servant and politician in 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 ...

during the early

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n colonial period.

Early life

Campbell was born in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

in 1770. He was eldest son of Reverend William Campbell, vicar of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, Ireland, and his wife Mary Campbell (née McCammon). He and his brothers were educated at home by his father. From 1793 to 1795, he worked at the newly formed

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

Vice-regal secretary

After arriving in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Campbell, on 1 January 1810 was appointed to the role of vice-regal secretary to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

. For eleven years he was Macquarie's chief assistant in the administration of the colony, his intimate friend and loyal supporter. He was paid £282 10 s by the British government, to which Macquarie added £82 10s from the colonial revenue. He then served as Provost Marshal from 1820 until the office was abolished and a sheriff appointed in 1825. Campbell took a leading part in the founding of the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

from 1816 until 1817 and was appointed as the first president of the Board of Directors, serving until 1821. He was re-elected to the board in 1827 but resigned before taking his seat. In 1821 he was treasurer of the committee in charge of building the first Catholic church in Sydney, St Mary's, although he was not himself a Catholic.

Politics

In 1824, Governor Sir

Thomas Brisbane Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir Thomas MacDougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke ...

suggested his name for appointment to the new Legislative Council. In 1826, Governor (Sir)

Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. His period of governorship was unpopular, with Darling being broadly regarded as a tyrant. He introd ...

made him a member of the Land Board, and of the Board for General Purposes constituted to reorganize the administrative offices of government. In April 1827, Darling appointed him collector of customs as well, in place of John Piper, at a salary of £1200, but he resigned from this post in December. He was replaced by Michael Cotton. In 1829, he became a member of the newly extended

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 ...

and served in the role until his death.

Private life

As a private citizen, Campbell was a large landholder and a most efficient farmer and breeder of cattle and horses. In 1811, Macquarie granted him at Bringelly, and later he received a grant near Rooty Hill. He was also a large stock-holder in southern New South Wales. He never married and had no children.

Death

Campbell died in

on 7 January 1830 at the age of 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John 1770 births 1830 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian people of Irish descent Presidents of the Bank of New South Wales Australian book and manuscript collectors