John Robertson (Australian politician) Totally Explained

Everything about John Robertson Australian Politician totally explained

Sir John Robertson KCMG (15 October 1816 – 8 May 1891) was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales of five occasions. Robertson is best remembered for land reform and in particular the Robertson Land Acts of 1861, which sought to open up the selection of Crown land and break the monopoly of the squatters.
Robertson was elected to Parliament in 1856 supporting manhood suffrage, secret ballot, electorates based on equal populations, abolition of state aid to religion, government non-denominational schools, free trade, and land reform. He saw free selection of crown land before survey as the key to social reform with poor settlers being able to occupy agricultural and pastoral land, even that occupied by lease-holding squatters. This insight enabled him to dominate the politics of 1856-61.

Biography

Robertson was born at Bow, London. His father, James Robertson, was Scottish, his mother English, and the family emigrated to Australia in 1820 on the advice of Sir Thomas Brisbane. They were apparently in good circumstances, for, according to the custom of the time, anyone bringing to the colony a sum of not less than £2500 was entitled to a first class grant of 2500 acres (10 km²) of land, and this they received in the upper Hunter district. James Robertson was also appointed general superintendent of government clocks and received a 35 hectare grant at Robertson's Point, Cremorne Point. The five-year terms of the 1856 Council appointments had run out and the Governor appointed a new Council to life terms, including Robertson. Due to the reappointment of Council, the land bills had to be passed again by the Assembly in September and were passed by the Council on October 1861. The resulting act remained the law of the country for many years.
Robertson resigned from the Council in December 1861 and John Garrett resigned the seat of Shoalhaven to allow him to win it at a by-election in January 1862. He successfully contested the seat of West Sydney, a working class electorate, in the November 1864 general election. In February 1865, he was appointed as Secretary for Lands again in the fourth Cowper ministry. He resigned from Parliament to sort out his financial difficulties through the failure of some properties he held in northern Queensland in October 1865, but he was renominated to fill the vacancy eight days later. In the January 1866 election, he was defeated in West Sydney, due to opposition to the Government's policy of preserving some crown land for public purposes, such as water supply, and to a false claim, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, that he was "the President of the Fenian Society." Martin compared him to Tiberius Gracchus: "both advocated the cause of free selection, both hit upon the same amount of land for each individual … [and] both had been the idols of the people … [and] deserted by the people." He won a by-election for Clarence in August 1866, and represented it to November 1869.

Second ministry

In January 1868, holding the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary, Robertson formed his second ministry and he won back West Sydney in the December 1869 general election. He was unable to get any of his own legislation passed and relinquished the premiership but to Cowper in January 1870 and in February, he was forced to resign from Parliament due to bankruptcy. A committee was formed to raise and invest funds to sort out his financial problems and he won back West Sydney in March and discharged his bankruptcy in August. Robertson rejoined the ministry in August 1870 as Secretary for Lands. This government had a very small majority in the house, and when Cowper was appointed agent-general in London it resigned. Sir James Martin was sent for and to the surprise of the country Robertson joined him as Colonial Secretary in his ministry. At the general election held early in 1872, three members of the government were defeated, and Parkes came into power on 14 May 1872, there was a constant struggle between the parties under Robertson and Parkes for some years.

Third and fourth ministries

Robertson was Premier again in February 1875, Parkes in March 1877, Robertson in August 1877; but this ministry only lasted until December. He called an election in November 1877, at which he was beaten in West Sydney, but won Mudgee and East Macquarie and chose to represent Mudgee until December 1878. The coming-in of the Farnell ministry in 1877 gave the main contestants time to take breath and consider the position, and in December 1878 a coalition was made between Parkes and Robertson which led to a ministry which lasted for over four years and did some really useful work. Parkes was Premier, and Robertson went to the Legislative Council as vice-president of the Executive Council. In 1879, he founded the Royal National Park. During Parkes's absence in England, between December 1881 and August 1882, Robertson was acting-Premier and Colonial Secretary. On 31 December 1881, he resigned from the Legislative Council and was returned as member for Mudgee at a by-election in January 1882. The general election held in December 1882 was adverse to the government and it resigned.

Fifth ministry and retirement

Robertson formed his fifth ministry in December 1885 but resigned in the following February. He was a trustee of the Royal National Park and he injured his leg while working on it, which increased his depression and this together with his poor finances led him to retire from parliament in June 1886. A grant of £10,000 was made to him by the government. Henceforth he lived in retirement, his health was impaired and he was unable to take part in public life. He was strongly against federation, almost his last act was the sending of a letter opposing it to the Sydney Morning Herald, which appeared on the day preceding his death.
Robertson died in Watsons Bay and was accorded a public funeral.

Honours

He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) as the Knight of Clovelly in 1877. A statue to his memory is in the botanical gardens at Sydney. The Federal division of Robertson, the former state electoral district of Robertson and Robertson were named after him.

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