Robert Turnbull (c.1819 – 21 November 1872) was a merchant and politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a States and territories of Australia, state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), ...

, and a member of 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 ...

Life and career

Turnbull was born in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, Scotland, and moved to the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

in 1840 via

Van Diemens Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal-inhabited island was first visited by the Dutch ship captained by Abel Tasm ...

having arrived there in 1839 in the ship ''Charlotte''. In

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

he became a partner in Turnbull, Orr & Co importing manufactured goods. He later formed R. & P. Turnbull in Market St, Melbourne. Port Albert office

He lived in

Port Albert Port Albert is a town in Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, south-east of Morwell, Victoria, Morwell, south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the , Port Alb ...

in the 1840s managing the interests of his firm in

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

where the partnership had a dozen pastoral properties between 1838 and 1857. His five brothers were part owners of some of these properties. He retained his business connections with Melbourne and in 1851 he was elected to the inaugural Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the

Melbourne Club The Melbourne Club is a private social club established in 1838 and located at 36 Collins Street, Melbourne. The club is a symbol of Australia's British social heritage and was established at a gathering of 23 gentlemen on Saturday, 17 Decembe ...

and the Union Club. His wife was Marion Paterson and they had seven children.

Politics

In September 1851 Turnbull was elected unopposed as member for

Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...

in the first (unicameral) Victorian Legislative Council. He was sworn-in November 1851 and held the seat until resigning in May 1853. Turnbull was again elected to the Victorian Legislative Council as member for Eastern Province in a by-election in January 1864, a seat he held until his death in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

. He was 53 years of age and was survived by his wife and five of their children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Robert 1810s births 1872 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales People from East Lothian Politicians from the Colony of Victoria