Anthony O'Grady Lefroy (14 March 1816 – 21 January 1897), often known as O'Grady Lefroy, was an important

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

official in Western Australia before the advent of responsible government. O'Grady Lefroy was born at

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Ireland on 14 March 1816. He was the nephew of

Thomas Langlois Lefroy Thomas Langlois Lefroy (8 January 1776 – 4 May 1869) was an Irish-Huguenot politician and judge. He served as an MP for the constituency of Dublin University in 1830–1841, Privy Councillor of Ireland in 1835–1869 and Lord Chief Justic ...

(Chief Justice of Ireland and Jane Austen's youthful love). In 1842, at the age of 27, he migrated to Western AustraliaCranfield, R. E. 1960, From Ireland to Western Australia: The Establishment of a Branch of the Lefroy Family at Walebing, Western Australia, 1842 to 1960, Perth on board the ''Lady Grey''. In 1847, Lefroy and his brother

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iris ...

accompanied Alfred Durlacher in exploring the area that later became known as Gingin. Shortly afterwards, he purchased land at Walebing, where he was a pastoralist until retiring in favour of his son in 1873. Lefroy was private secretary to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charles Fitzgerald from 1843 probably until 1853, and again from 1854 to 1855. In 1851 he was Clerk to the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

Councils. In 1856, Lefroy was appointed Colonial Treasurer, and he would hold that position for over 30 years, until the advent of responsible government in December 1890. He did, however, spend portions of this period in England: he was in England in 1858, 1863–65, and 1868–71. When Colonial Secretary of Western Australia

Frederick Barlee Sir Frederick Palgrave Barlee (6 February 1827 – 8 August 1884) was Colonial Secretary of Western Australia from 1855 to 1875; Lieutenant-Governor of the British Honduras (now Belize) from 1877 to 1882; and Administrator of Trinidad in 1884. ...

took long service leave in July 1875, Lefroy was appointed acting Colonial Secretary. In December of that year he was appointed a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

. The following year he became a Justice of the Peace. When Barlee was posted to the

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

early in 1877,

Roger Goldsworthy Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy (1839 – 6 May 1900) was a British colonial administrator. Roger Goldsworthy was born in Marylebone, Middlesex in 1839, and educated at Sandhurst, the younger brother of Major-General Walter Tuckfield Goldsw ...

was appointed the new Colonial Secretary; Lefroy ceased to be acting Colonial Secretary and a member of the Legislative Council on 30 August 1877. The following year, he was made CMG. O'Grady Lefroy's 30-year tenure as Colonial Treasurer ended on 29 December 1890 when John Forrest, Western Australia's first Premier, was sworn into the position. Lefroy retired to Perth, dying there on 21 January 1897. He was survived by his wife of 44 years Mary Bruce, and five children. One of his sons was

Henry Lefroy Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia. Biography Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Wes ...

, who would later become the 11th Premier of Western Australia.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefroy, Anthony Ogrady Explorers of Western Australia Colonial Secretaries of Western Australia Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Irish explorers Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Burials at East Perth Cemeteries 1816 births 1897 deaths Settlers of Western Australia 19th-century Australian politicians