Jonathan Charles Billing Pockerage Seaver (born 7 June 1855, date of death unknown) was an Irish-born Australian politician, engineer and surveyor. He was born at

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The city, located on the main island of Saint Vincent, has the main port and the biggest commercial center of the islands. With a population of 12,909 (2012), K ...

near

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 ...

, the eldest son of Thomas Seaver and arrived in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

around 1857. At sixteen he became a tutor and after an abortive attempt at a church career worked as an engineer and surveyor. He traveled widely, spending some time in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, where he married Mary Robinson on 22 November 1880, before settling in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. In 1887 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

as the

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 ...

member for

and retained the seat in 1889. In May 1891 four free traders, Seaver,

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...

Jack Want John Henry Want (4 May 1846 – 22 November 1905) was an Australian barrister and politician, as well as the 19th Attorney-General of New South Wales. Early life Want was born at the Glebe, Sydney, the fourth son of nine children of Randolph ...

and John Haynes, voted against the

fifth Parkes Ministry Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

in a motion of no confidence, which was only defeated by the casting vote of the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. Whilst the government survived the motion, parliament was dissolved on 6 June 1891. Such was Seaver's animosity to

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 the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australi ...

, he did not contest Gloucester, but instead contested St Leonards, stating that his sole reason was opposing Parkes. His opposition was ineffective however as Parkes topped the poll, while Seaver finished a distant last. Seaver left Sydney with his family on the ''R.M.S. Australia'' in August 1896 bound for London. Little is known about his subsequent life. It is possible that he died in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1928 however this is not confirmed by a reliable source.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seaver, Jonathan 1855 births Year of death missing Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians People from the Colony of Victoria