Sir Arthur Alfred Clement Cocks, (27 May 1862 – 25 April 1943) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of 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 ...

Early life

Cocks was born at Wild Duck Creek, near

Heathcote Heathcote may refer to: Places in Australia *Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney **Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly **Heathcote National Park ** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and educated at a state school at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

before entering retailing at 14. He married Elizabeth Agnes Gibb in 1884 and they had a son and a daughter. He established a business of wholesale jewellers and opticians, Arthur Cocks & Co. He was a member of the

Sydney Municipal 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 ...

from 1906 to 1914 and was

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

in 1913 and was in 1920 involved in the foundation of the

Civic Reform Association The Civic Reform Association, variously known as the Civic Reform Movement and the Citizens' Reform Association, was an Australian non-aligned ratepayers' organisation that was formed by approximately seventy people at the Sydney Town Hall on 20 ...

Political career

Cocks represented

St Leonards St Leonards may refer to: Places Australia *St Leonards, New South Wales **St Leonards railway station *St Leonards, Tasmania, suburb of Launceston *St Leonards, Victoria Canada *St. Leonard's, Newfoundland and Labrador New Zealand * St L ...

from 1910 to 1920 and North Shore from 1920 to 1925, initially for the Liberal Reform Party and then the Nationalist Party. He was Colonial Treasurer from 1922 to 1925 in the Fuller ministry. Cocks died at

Mosman, New South Wales Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

. His wife and children predeceased him.

Honours

Cocks was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocks, Arthur Alfred Clement Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Commonwealth Liberal Party politicians Civic Reform Association politicians Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian politicians awarded knighthoods 1862 births 1943 deaths Treasurers of New South Wales Agents-General for New South Wales