Richard Bloomfield Rees (1859 – 25 June 1935) was an Australian politician. Born in

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

to colliery manager Benjamin Rees and Gwenllian Jenkins, Rees was educated in London and became a pharmacist and dentist. After travelling through Europe he 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 ...

in 1884 and became a public analyst for the Board of Health at Heaglehawk and a lecturer in science at the

Bendigo School of Mines and Industries The Bendigo School of Mines was established in Bendigo, Australia in 1873 to provide technical education, predominantly for the mining industry. It was then known as the ''Bendigo School of Mines and Industries'' from 1883 to 1959, ''Bendigo Techni ...

. On 8 December 1886 he married Rosa Paddison, with whom he had six children. From 1893 he farmed at

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

. In 1903 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

for North Western Province, ultimately representing the

Victorian Farmers' Union The Victorian Farmers' Union (VFU) was an association of farmers and primary producers formed in 1914 in the Australian state of Victoria. Although initially formed as an "absolutely non-political" entity, the VFU became a political party in 19 ...

; he resigned his seat in 1919 to run for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, unsuccessfully. He had continued to travel and went to

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

to search for settlers for Victoria on the government's behalf. Rees died at Swan Hill in 1935.

References

1859 births 1935 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Welsh emigrants to colonial Australia People from Neath {{Australia-National-politician-stub