Samuel Gordon (Australian politician)

Samuel Gordon (12 October 1811 – 24 July 1882) was an Australian merchant, pastoralist and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1861 and 1882. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for three terms from 1856 until 1860.

Early life

Gordon was the son of an Irish farmer and was educated in private schools in Ireland. He emigrated to Sydney in 1830 and worked in a number of mercantile houses before commencing his own company, which was involved in trade between Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. In 1840 Gordon established a large store in Liverpool, founded a brewery and acquired 50,000 acres of pastoral land on the Murrumbidgee. In 1848, Gordon sold his assets in Liverpool at a great profit and became a wine and spirits merchant in Sydney. During his later life, in partnership with Edward Flood, he gained control over 460 square miles (1,200 km²) of pastoral land in Queensland. He was also the director of a number of colonial companies including English, Scottish and Australian Bank. Gordon was involved in numerous local organisations including the Presbyterian Church, St. Andrew's College, Sydney and the YMCA.

State Parliament

In 1856 Gordon was elected as one of the three members for Durham in the first New South Wales Legislative Assembly under responsible government. Gordon generally had a liberal outlook and was a supporter of John Dunmore Lang, Charles Cowper and John Robertson particularly in questions of constitutional reform, education and land reform. He retained the seat at the 1858 election and between 1859 and 1860 he represented the seat of Illawarra. He resigned from the Assembly before the 1860 election but accepted Cowper's invitation to join the Legislative Council as a life-time appointment in 1861. He expressed a desire to reform the council into an elective house.

References

• "Mr Samuel Gordon (1811–1882)". Former members of the New South Wales Parliament, 1856–2006. New South Wales Parliament. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/54fdef66f72a0487ca256e3000167a7a?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2010-01-11. 
• M Rutledge. "Gordon, Samuel Deane (1811 - 1882)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Australian National University. http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040306b.htm?hilite=samuel;gordon. Retrieved 2011-01-01.