Alfred Downward (1847 – 26 June 1930) was an Australian politician. Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to Edward and Elizabeth Downward, he was educated at

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

and Mornington before working on his father's

Balnarring Balnarring is a town in the south-eastern extremity of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local go ...

sheep farm. From 1874, he had his own property and was highly involved in settlement on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

. In 1879, he married Josephine Kerr at

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, with whom he had five children. He was a member of Flinders and Kangerong Shire Council for twenty-five years, serving as president from 1890 to 1892, and was also a Mornington Shire Councillor and president. He was elected to 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 ...

for Mornington in 1894, serving until 1929. He was Minister for Water Supply and Agriculture (1908–09), Minister for Mines, Forests and

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

(1917–18), and Minister for Immigration (1924–27). Downward died in Mornington in 1930.

References

1847 births 1930 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for Health (Victoria) Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Politicians from Melbourne Victoria (state) local councillors Ministers for Agriculture (Victoria) {{Australia-politician-stub