Sir Alfred Dobson (18 August 1849 – 5 December 1908) was a Solicitor-General and

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 ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Early life

Dobson was the sixth son of John Dobson, of Hobart, Tasmania, solicitor and public notary, and previously of Gateshead,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, by his second wife Kate, daughter of the late Richard Willis, member of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

. Dobson was full brother to

Henry Dobson Henry Dobson (24 December 1841 – 10 October 1918) was an Australian politician, who served as a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and later of the Australian Senate. He was the 17th Premier of Tasmania from 17 August 1892 to 14 A ...

and half-brother to

William Lambert Dobson Sir William Lambert Dobson (24 April 1833 – 17 March 1898) was an English-born Australian politician, a Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of Tasmania, ( Australia). Early life Dobson was born at Carr Hill, Gateshead, Durham, En ...

, and

Frank Dobson Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 t ...

. Alfred Dobson was educated at

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...

, Sandy Bay, Hobart and became a student of the Inner Temple on 20 April 1872, being called to the English bar on 26 January 1875.

Career in Australia

Returning to Tasmania, Dobson was called to the bar there on 10 September 1875, and was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Assembly from 14 June 1877 to May 1887. Mr. Dobson was Attorney-General in the Fysh Ministry from 13 August 1877 (when he was sworn of the Executive Council), to 20 December 1878, and was Speaker of the Tasmanian Legislative Assembly from 1 July 1885 to 29 May 1887, when he resigned his seat of Glenorchy on accepting appointment as the Solicitor-General. Dobson was leader of the opposition 1883 to 1885 and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

from July 1885 to May 1887. In April 1901 Dobson became Agent-General for Tasmania in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, a position he held until his death from drowning in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

on 5 December 1908. Shortly before his death, Dobson declined the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Alfred 1849 births 1908 deaths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Speakers of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania 19th-century Australian politicians Solicitors-General of Tasmania Attorneys-General of Tasmania Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian King's Counsel People educated at The Hutchins School