Joseph Palmer Abbott
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Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, (29 September 184215 September 1901) was an Australian politician, pastoralist and solicitor.


Early life

Joseph Palmer Abbott was born on 29 September 1842 at
Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney bas ...
,
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 ...
, to John Kingsmill Abbott, a
squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...
, and his wife Frances Amanda, née Brady. Abbott was educated at the Church of England school at Muswellbrook, moving to John Armstrong's school at Redfern at nine years of age, then to J. R. Huston's
Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...
Academy and finally to The King's School,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
. Upon completion of his education in 1857 he returned to the family station "Glengarry", near Wingen in the upper
Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its ...
, where his mother had gone from Muswellbrook in 1847 upon the death of his father.


Work

Abbott was admitted as a solicitor in 1865, and practised law in Murrurundi, specialising in land cases. He was appointed a commissioner of the
Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...
, for the district of Maitland. Founding a firm, Abbott & Allan 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 ...
, Abbott established himself as an expert in property and land law. He was a director and later chair of the Australian Mutual Provident Society.


Politics

Abbott was nominated as a candidate for 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 ...
for the district of The Williams at the by-election in January 1866, in opposition to Marshall Burdekin who had been appointed colonial treasurer in the fourth Cowper ministry, however he withdrew in favour of Frederick Manton to avoid splitting the liberal vote. Manton was successful, and the Cowper ministry fell, however Manton was forced to vacate the seat due to insolvency two months later. Abbott was nominated at the by-election in April 1866, speaking for two hours and fifty minutes at the nomination, however was unsuccessful with 26.9% of the vote. At the 1870 by-election for Liverpool Plains Abbott was supporting Edward Parnell in opposition to
Charles Cowper Sir Charles Cowper (), (26 April 1807 – 19 October 1875) was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five occasions from 1856 to 1870. Cowper did useful work but does not rank among the more distinguished Australian ...
following the formation of the fifth Cowper ministry, however also nominated himself so that he could demand a poll. He was proposed as a candidate at the 1874 election for the Upper Hunter, however he declined, having already nominated Francis White. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for
Gunnedah Gunnedah () is a town in north-central New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 8,338. Gunnedah is situated within the Liver ...
on 29 November 1880. He created the 1881 Hospital Acts Amendment Act, which led to him becoming an honorary governor of several medical facilities. In January 1883, Abbott became the
Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines was an office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for ...
in the ministry of Sir Alexander Stuart. After Stuart's resignation in 1885, Abbott became the Secretary for Lands in the ministry of
George Dibbs Sir George Richard Dibbs KCMG (12 October 1834 – 5 August 1904) was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales on three occasions. Early years Dibbs was born in Sydney, son of Captain John Dibbs, who 'disappeared' in the ...
. He was not a candidate for Gunnedah at the 1887 election, but was nominated for Wentworth without his consent and easily topped the poll at the election on 26 February 1887. He served as the member for Wentworth until he retired from parliament on 11 June 1901. He was one of 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 ...
rs turned protectionists in opposition to 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 ...
led by
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 ...
and was briefly the
leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
for the
Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...
from March 1887. Abbott resigned as leader in May 1887 as he supported Parkes' plan to reform the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly, against the views of his followers. He was nominated as a Protectionist candidate for East Sydney at the 1889 election, however he had been elected unopposed for Wentworth on the same day and the Free Trade Party won all four seats. Abbott was elected
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...
in 1890 and had a reputation as an authority on parliamentary procedure. He also imposed dignified control over the formerly unruly Assembly. He resigned the Speakership in 1900. He was known for his work involving
property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...
s of Australia, and as a
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 ...
delegate for the Federation Conventions of 1891, 1897, and 1898 where he was Chairman of Committees.


Family and social life

He was initiated as a
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
in 1864, and served as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales from 1895 to 1899. Abbott, along with many other politicians, was a member of the Australian Club and Union Club. He was knighted in 1892. For his services towards Australian law and politics, he was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
in 1895. In 1873, at West Maitland, Abbott married Matilda Elizabeth () with whom he had two sons,
John Henry John Henry most commonly refers to: *John Henry (folklore) John Henry may also refer to: People Artists and entertainers * John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor *Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...
(1874–1953) and Macartney (Mac) (1877–1960) and a daughter. Matilda died in 1880. In 1883, at East Maitland, he married Edith (); they had one son, Joseph Palmer (Joe) (1891–1965) and three daughters. * John Henry was a novelist and poet; * Mac was a solicitor and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Upper Hunter (1913–1918) and a Senator from 1935 to 1941. * Joe was a grazier and member for
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
in the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...
from 1940 to 1949; and Abbott lived for a time in ''Tarella'', an
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
mansion in Amherst Street,
Cammeray Cammeray is a residential suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Northern Sydney and is part of the North Sydney Council local government area. History Aboriginal culture Cammeray takes its name from the Cammeraygal people, an Aboriginal ...
, which he built c. 1886. Palmer Street in Cammeray is named after him. He died on 15 September 1901 (aged 59), and was buried in
Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...
.


References


External links

  {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Joseph Palmer 1842 births 1901 deaths Colony of New South Wales politicians Australian Freemasons Masonic grand masters Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People educated at The King's School, Parramatta Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians People from Muswellbrook