Cornelius Job Ham (13 January 1837 – 10 December 1909) was a politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Melbourne, a Local government in Australia, local government area of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Mayors (1842–1902) Lord mayors (1902–1980) The title of "Lord ...

1881–82 and a member of 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 ...

1882–1904. Ham born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England, youngest son of Rev. John Ham and his wife Ann Job, ''née'' Tonkin. In 1842 the family arrived in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

(colony of Victoria from 1851) and John Ham became the first pastor of Collins Street Baptist Chapel,

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 ...

. Cornelius Ham's eldest brother, Jabez, was one of the first editors of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', Melbourne. Cornelius Ham started business as a land and estate agent in Melbourne in 1855, and was Mayor of Melbourne in 1881–82. In November 1882 he stood for

Melbourne Province Melbourne Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia). Melbourne Province was created in 1882 when Central Province was abolished in the redistribution of Provinces. Its area included central Melbourne, Carlto ...

in the Victorian Legislative Council in opposition to the late Dr. Beaney and

George Selth Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

, and was triumphantly returned, being sworn-in in December 1882 and holding the seat until May 1904. Ham accepted a seat in the James Munro Ministry without portfolio in November 1890, and was sworn of the Executive Council. Twelve months later he resigned office after voting against the Government Bill establishing the one man one vote principle, but resumed office on the measure being abandoned. In February 1892, however, when the Ministry was reconstructed under

William Shiels William Shiels (3 December 1848 – 17 December 1904) was an Australian colonial-era politician, serving as the 16th Premier of Victoria. Biography Shiels was born in Maghera, County Londonderry, a town in the centre of Ulster in the north of ...

, he left the Cabinet. He married in 1868 Hattie, daughter of John Latham, of West Virginia, U.S.A., formerly United States Consul-General in Melbourne. Ham died in

Armadale, Victoria Armadale is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Armadale recorded a population of 9,368 at the 2021 cens ...

, Australia on 10 December 1909, survived by three sons and six daughters. He was the grandfather of

Ainslie Meares Ainslie Dixon Meares (3 March 191019 September 1986) was an Australian psychiatrist, scholar of hypnotism, psychotherapist, authority on stress and a prolific author who lived and practised in Melbourne. Early life Ainslie Meares was born in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Cornelius Job 1837 births 1909 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council English emigrants to colonial Australia Mayors and Lord Mayors of Melbourne People from Birmingham, West Midlands 19th-century Australian politicians