Alfred Shrapnell Bailes (23 July 1849 – 15 January 1928) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

from 1886 to 1894 and from 1897 to 1907. He also served as mayor of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

from 1883 to 1884.

Early life

Bailes was born on 23 July 1849 in Baltonsborough,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. He arrived in Melbourne in 1852, where his father Henry worked on the construction of

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * Parliament House, Darwin, Parliame ...

as a wood-carver. Bailes began his education at a tent school on the

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

reserve. He later attended a Presbyterian school on

Punt Road Hoddle Highway is an urban highway in Melbourne linking CityLink and the Eastern Freeway, itself a sub-section of Hoddle Main Road. Both these names are not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the n ...

before completing his education in

, where his family moved in 1860. After leaving he began working as a compositor on the ''Sandhurst Bee'', later working on the '' Bendigo Advertiser'' and the '' Melbourne Argus''. Bailes eventually returned to Bendigo to take over his mother's hotel. He was the chairman of the Sandhurst Board of Advice, the local school board.

Politics

Bailes served as mayor of the City of Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo) from 1883 to 1884. He was elected to the

at the 1886 election, unexpectedly defeating former government minister Angus Mackay to become of the three MPs for the seat of Sandhurst. He was defeated at the 1894 election but re-elected in 1897. Bailes was also re-elected to the Bendigo City Council in 1897, despite an attempt by his defeated opponent to have his election declared invalid. It was claimed that he was unable to stand for council as his house was in his wife's name and only ratepayers could stand for election, but the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled he was a valid candidate. Bailes transferred to the new parliamentary seat of

Bendigo East Bendigo East is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It covers an area of covering the part of the city of Bendigo east of the Yungera railway line and surrounding rural areas to the north, ...

at the 1904 election, serving until his defeat in 1907 by the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) candidate. In 1886, Bailes publicly stated that Australia should become a federated republic after the death of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. His remarks were controversial and he was even challenged to a duel by a fellow MP, eventually making a public apology. A meeting was subsequently called at the Bendigo Town Hall with the intent of denouncing Bailes and proclaiming the city's loyalty to the monarchy. However, the meeting was disrupted by "hundreds of youths and young men" who interrupted the crowd's attempts to sing " God Save the Queen" with boos and hisses. Around 2,000 people also gathered outside the town hall, "many booing mention of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and cheering for Bailes".

Personal life

Bailes married Millinda Sperring Stephenson on 1 October 1870, with whom he had four sons and two daughters. He was predeceased by one of his daughters and was widowed in 1902. His sons

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and Ernie Bailes both played high-level

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. Bailes died on 15 January 1928 in Hampton, Victoria. At the time of his death he was the chairman of the Victorian Coal Miners' Accidents Relief Board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailes, Alfred 1849 births 1928 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian hoteliers Australian republicans People from Bendigo People from Mendip District