Alban Joseph Riley (8 June 1844 – 24 July 1914) was an Australian politician. He was mayor of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Riley was born at to softgoods merchant Alban Joseph Riley and Juliana Lyons. He was educated privately at , and in 1859 was apprenticed to a draper. He established his own branches around 1868 at and in 1874 at Maitland. On 4 October 1870 he married Eleanor Harriett Birkenhead, the second daughter of William and Hannah Birkenhead, at Sydney. In 1878 he visited India, Palestine, Europe and England. He established an export drapery business, AJ Riley & Co, with branches in London, Paris and Sydney. His private residence was Tulloona, in Gloucester Avenue, .

Politics

Riley was a Burwood alderman in 1884. He served on

Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

from 1885 to 1891 and was mayor in 1887. He first stood for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

at the 1885 election for Canterbury, but was unsuccessful by a margin of 133 votes (0.8%). In 1887 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member for South Sydney, finishing at the head of the poll, but was defeated in 1889 with a swing to the Protectionists. Appointed to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

in 1891, he was forced to resign in 1893 when he was declared bankrupt. He was alleged to have continued trading and obtaining credit despite his bankruptcy.

Later life

Riley died at his home Tulloona, Park Road, Burwood on , survived by Eleanor, five sons and five daughters. He was buried in

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest List of necropolises, necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest ...

on 26 July 1914.

Legacy

The

Corn Exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...

built in 1887 has his name and that he was mayor in 1887 over the corner door.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Alban 1844 births 1914 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council