Joseph Earl Cherry Mitchell (22 July 1840 – 22 October 1897) was an English-born Australian politician and businessman. He was born in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

to shipbuilder Richard Mitchell and Margaret Cherry. He was his father's apprentice when they arrived in

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 ...

in 1859. He then established himself in Newtown as a

coal merchant A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households. Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed ...

, subsequently becoming a successful figure in the coal industry. From around 1890 until his death, he tried unsuccessfully to establish an iron and steel making venture. In 1866 he married Charlotte Harrison at

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highl ...

; they had eight children. He was a Methodist. Mitchell was elected four times 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 ...

Business career

Mitchell began as a coal merchant and did much to popularise coal from the Western coalfields around Lithgow. He later acquired interests in collieries and shipping, including a major interest in both the South Bulli Mine and the Bellambi Colliery. From around 1890 up to his death in 1897, Mitchell led efforts to form a syndicate of English capitalists, to set up an iron and steel works, and to win a contract to supply the N.S.W. Government with steel rails. His endeavours were complicated by both the lukewarm support of labour unions—who were in favour of a state-owned iron and steel industry in New South Wales—and the fraudulent efforts of Alfred John Lambert. G & C Hoskins emerged as a rival for the contract but only if it were subject to a

protective tariff Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise, ...

. Mitchell continued to argue that the industry could be established, without protection. Unfortunately, although Mitchell eventually won the contract in 1897, he died before he could fulfil it. Although Mitchell had earlier considered the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

as a location for his iron and steel works, the final form of his proposal was that the works were to be sited adjacent to the (former) Pipers Flat railway station, near

Wallerawang Wallerawang is a small township in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately northwest of Lithgow adjacent to the Great Western Highway. It is also located on the Main Western railway line at the junctio ...

, and would have exploited nearby deposits of iron ore, limestone and coal. The works were never built.

Political career

Mitchell was first elected to the

in 1881 as the member for Newtown, but he was defeated the following year. He returned to the Assembly in 1883, but was defeated again in 1885. In 1888 he was elected 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 ...

r and was re-elected for

in 1889, but he was in Europe at the time of nominations for the 1891 election and therefore was unable to contest. He unsuccessfully contested a by-election later in the same year, and contested Woronora in 1894 and Newtown-Camperdown in 1895, without success. In the early 1880s, his political views were in favour of free trade and, generally, in support of the government of

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 ...

but he was not originally a member of the political grouping led by Parkes. After the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party (FTP), officially known as the Free Trade and Liberal Association and also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party. It was formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, in ...

was formed (1887), he stood as a Free Trade Party candidate.

Death and legacy

He died at his home, 'Milton House' at

Bellambi Bellambi () is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a Bellambi railway station, New South Wales, railway station (opened 1889) on the NSW TrainLink South Coast Line. Bellambi is situated directly ...

, on 22 October 1897, of cancer. His grave is in the Methodist section of Rookwood Cemetery. Mitchell Road,

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, N.S.W. is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Joseph 1840 births 1897 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians Colony of New South Wales politicians 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople