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RE-MEMBER (FORMER MEMBERS)

Sir Henry John Wrixon (KT)
- Born
- 18 October 1839 (Dublin, Ireland)
- Died
- 09 April 1915
- Parents
- Judge Arthur Nicholas and Charlotte Matilda, nee Bace
- Marriage
Religion: Church of England
Marital Status: 1872 Kew, Mrs Charlotte Anderson, d. of Henry Miller; 2s. 1d.
- Education
- Matriculated University MeIb. and graduated Trinity College Dublin, BA
- Career
Barrister
Born Ireland and arrived in Melbourne with his family in 1850. As a young man Wrixon studied law in both Ireland and Victoria. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1861 and was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1863. He subsequently set up a law practice in Melbourne and was appointed QC in 1890. Wrixon was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1868, campaigning as a reformer of the controversial land laws and of the Legislative Council. He was solicitor-general in the McCulloch ministry in 1870-71. In 1880 he stood successfully for the seat of Portland and held it until his resignation in 1894. During his period in the Legislative Assembly Wrixon was attorney-general from 1886 to 1890 and a delegate to the Federal Convention in 1891, and was narrowly defeated by Thomas Bent for the Speakership. . In 1894 he was a delegate to the Colonial Conference in Canada, and was also commissioned by the Victorian government to investigate socialist movements in the Pacific, Canada, the United States and England. On his return to Victoria in 1896 Wrixon entered the legislative Council as a member for the South-Western Province. In 1901 he was elected President but, consistent with his radical principles, continued his opposition to class privilege. Although opposing socialism he supported political equality. He was also a devout Anglican; Wrixon resigned from the legislative Council in 1910, and died three years later at his home Raheen in Kew.
House | Electorate | Start | End | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Legislative Assembly | Belfast | 1 March 1868 | 1 April 1877 | ||
Legislative Assembly | Portland | 1 May 1880 | 1 July 1894 | Resigned | |
Legislative Council | South Western | 1 August 1896 | 1 June 1910 | Resigned |
*The Start date for Members elected after 1900 is the date they were elected. The start date for pre-1900 Members is the date they were sworn in.
- Speeches
- References
- Australian Dictionary of Biography, 6; Jones, Catherine & Victoria. Parliamentary Library. Library Committee (1986). "Presiding officers of the Victorian Parliament 1856-1986." Victorian Government Printing Office on behalf of the Library Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Melbourne
- Award
- knighted in 1892
Last updated: 14th August 2019