Agar Wynne (15 July 185012 May 1934) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He began his career in the

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

and served two terms as

Solicitor-General of Victoria The Solicitor-General of Victoria, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer and the deputy of the Attorney-General. The Solicitor-General acts alongside the Crown Advocate and Crown Solicitor, and serves as one ...

. In 1906, he transferred to the federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. He was

Postmaster-General of Australia The Australian Minister for Communications has overall responsibility for broadcasting, the information and communications technology industry, the information economy, and telecommunications within Australia. The portfolio is currently held by ...

in the Cook Government from 1913 to 1914, but retired from federal politics at the 1914 election. He re-entered Victorian politics and briefly served as

Attorney-General of Victoria The Attorney-General of Victoria, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for Victoria, is a minister in the Government of Victoria, Australia. The Attorney-General is a senior minister in the state government and the Firs ...

(1917–1918).

Early life

Wynne was born in London, but his family emigrated to Australia when he was a child. He educated at

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and seni ...

and enrolled in an articled clerk's course at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and was admitted as an attorney in July 1874. He married Mary Jane Robertson, née Smith, a widow with two children in November 1886. She died in 1889 and in February 1896 he married Annie Dudgeon, née Samuel, a widow with three children.

Colonial politics

In 1888, Wynne won the seat of

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

in the

which he held until 1903 and was

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

and Solicitor-General from 1893 to 1894 in Sir

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

's government and Solicitor-General from 1900 to 1902 in Sir George Turner's and Sir

Alexander Peacock Sir Alexander James Peacock (11 June 1861 – 7 October 1933) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Premier of Victoria. Early Years Peacock was born of Scottish descent at Creswick, the first Victorian Premier born after ...

's governments.

Federal politics

Wynne won the seat of Balaclava at the 1906 elections in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

as an Independent Protectionist. He joined the Fusion government and served as

in the Cook Ministry from June 1913 to its fall in September 1914, but he did not contest the 1914 elections, apparently because he could not reorganise his

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

to run on efficient business principles.

State politics and later life

Wynne returned to Victorian politics in 1917, winning the state seat of St Kilda and was

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Solicitor-General, Minister of Railways and a Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works from November 1917 to March 1918 in Sir

John Bowser Sir John Bowser (2 September 1856 – 10 June 1936), Australian politician, was the 26th Premier of Victoria. He was born in London, the son of an army officer, and arrived in Melbourne as a child with his family. He grew up at Bacchus Marsh ...

's government. He did not stand for re-election in 1920.

Personal life

In 1910, Wynne acquired Nerrin Nerrin, a property near Streatham, Victoria. He ran

merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

sheep, raised

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horses and created a wildlife sanctuary. He also had

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

interests elsewhere in Victoria and in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Wynne was a committee member of the

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup ...

from 1905. He won the

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in March du ...

twice, with Great Scot in 1903 and Peru in 1908. He also served terms as president of the Melbourne Swimming Club, the St Kilda Yacht Club, the

Melbourne Club The Melbourne Club is a private social club established in 1838 and located at 36 Collins Street, Melbourne. The club is a symbol of Australia's British social heritage and was established at a gathering of 23 gentlemen on Saturday, 17 Decembe ...

, and the Athenaeum Club. A supporter of the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...

, in 1917 Wynne offered £500 to the first member of the proposed Sportsman's Battalion to win the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

.Richardson, p. 257. Wynne suffered a series of strokes late in life and died at Nerrin Nerrin on 12 May 1934, aged 83. He was survived by the daughter of his first marriage.

References

Sources

* Richardson, N. (2016) ''The Game of their lives'', Pan Macmillan: Sydney. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynne, Agar 1850 births 1934 deaths Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Balaclava Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Cabinet of Australia Attorneys-General of Victoria Solicitors-General of Victoria Politicians from London Lawyers from London Melbourne Law School alumni People educated at Melbourne Grammar School 20th-century Australian politicians Australian racehorse owners and breeders