Nathaniel Levi
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Nathaniel Levi (20 January 1830–1908) was a Jewish-Australian politician and businessman.


Biography

Levi was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, England on 20 January 1830. He left England in December 1852, and arrived at
Hobson's Bay The City of Hobsons Bay is a local government area in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the south-western suburbs between 6 and 20 km from the Melbourne city centre. It was founded on 22 June 1994 during the amalgamation of lo ...
on 27 April 1854 on the ''Matilda Wattenbach''. He rented property on Collins and Queens Streets and worked as an auctioneer until 1858 when he joined a firm of "wine, spirit, and general merchants" called John Levy and Sons. In 1858, Levi ran for
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
to represent the constituency of Maryborough but lost by 14 votes. When Richard Davies Ireland was appointed
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, Levi contested the election for his vacant seat. He became the first Jewish member of the Victorian Parliament when he was first elected in 1860. He represented the electorates of Maryborough for 5 years before he became the representative for
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 ...
. He later represented the electorate of North Yarra. In 1865, Levi opened a distillery in Footscray and started cultivating sugar and spirits from
beetroot The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner bee ...
. Levi was prominent in the Jewish community, and was the president of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in 1880–82 and 1904–05, and president of the Melbourne Hebrew School.


Personal life

In 1855, Levy married John Levy's daughter, Sarah. She died in 1864. Levi was the forebear of prominent rabbi, John Levi, one of the founders of Melbourne's King David School.


References

. 1830 births 1908 deaths Politicians from Liverpool Jewish English politicians Australian Jews Australian people of English-Jewish descent English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-politician-stub