Robert Barr (8 March 1862 – 27 April 1947) was an Australian politician. Born in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

to ironworker James Barr and Janet Watson, his family arrived in Castlemaine in 1862, moved to Fryerstown in 1870 and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

in 1872. He was a pupil teacher at

Ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...

before becoming a journalist with the ''Bendigo Independent'' from 1878 to 1881, when he founded Fitzroy City Press with two partners. He was editor and owner from 1883 to 1900. Elected to Fitzroy City Council in 1898, he served until 1942, including two periods as mayor (1902–03, 1918–19). On 29 November 1882 he had married Catherine Jane Rose Wilson, who died in 1884; on 25 October 1905 he married Mary Pugh, ''née'' Corrick. In 1902 Barr was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

as the ministerialist member for Fitzroy, but he was defeated in 1904. Barr died at North Fitzroy in 1947.

References

1862 births 1947 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian journalists Australian male journalists Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia People from Ayrshire Mayors of places in Victoria (state) Victoria (state) local councillors People from the Colony of Victoria 20th-century mayors of places in Australia {{Australia-politician-stub