Nehemiah Guthridge (c.1808 - 27 June 1878), was an Irish-born Melbourne ironmonger, a city councillor in Melbourne, a parliamentarian representing the Central Province (November 1856 to August 1858) in the

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 ...

, a prominent

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

and the first mayor of Sale in 1863. Guthridge was born in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

, Ireland, the son of Thomas Guthridge, a farmer, and Jane, ''nee'' Quigley. Guthridge and William Nicholson were among the first promoters of the

Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The company was incorporated on 20 January 1853 to build the Port Melbourne railway line, line from Melbourne to the port o ...

, also providing funding for the initial survey. He also provided considerable financing for the

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

railway projects. Guthridge was married to Martha Erskine (*1814). The family arrived in June 1841 as bounty immigrants (under a scheme first proposed by

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) was an English politician in colonial Canada and New Zealand. He is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a ...

) at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

from

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 ...

via

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

aboard the H.M.S. ''Frankfield''. The ship's passenger list records "Nehemiah Guthridge 29, Fermanagh, Martha Guthridge 27 wife of Nehemiah, and Thomas Guthridge 2 son of Nehemiah". On 14 March 1849 Guthridge bought lot no. 2 of the Crown Allotment in

Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 2 ...

. For this property of , he paid £19 per acre. ;Children #Thomas Guthridge, b. 1839, England #Richard Guthridge, b. 1844, Melbourne #Ella Guthridge, b. 1847, Melbourne #Nehemiah Guthridge, b. 1849, Melbourne #Lissa Guthridge, b. 1851, Richmond #Edward Erskine Guthridge, b. 1853, Richmond, d. 1874, Victoria #Martha Anna Guthridge, b. 1855, Melbourne #Lilly Araminta Guthridge, b. 1857, Northcote Inscription on gravestone "Edward E. Guthridge, aged 21 years, fifth son of Nehemiah and Martha Guthridge, was drowned by the swamping of a boat in the Lower Yarra on 31 May 1874" Guthridge arrived in

Sale, Victoria Sale is a city situated in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the council capital of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated population of 15,305 in 2022 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The total population in ...

in November 1862, and took over the ironmongery business carried on by Messrs. Thomson and Neils, renaming it the "Gippsland Hardware Co." Guthridge became the first Mayor of Sale in 1863, and was again elected in 1864, 1869, and 1873. Guthridge died on 27 June 1878 at

Emerald Hill, Victoria South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

External links

Australia's Early Immigration Schemes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthridge, Nehemiah 1800s births 1878 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Mayors of places in Victoria (state) Politicians from the Colony of Victoria 19th-century Australian businesspeople 19th-century mayors of places in Australia