Fergus Jago Smith (8 June 1843 – 25 January 1924) was an Australian politician and pastoralist.

Early life

He was born at

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is located ...

to John Smith, a chemistry professor and later politician, and Mary Tom, the eldest of 11 children. He attended The King's School in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

, and after a world tour worked on his father's station at

Molong Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire. History The name Molong comes from the Aboriginal word for 'all rocks'. William Lee of Kelso is said to have had cattle in the area by 1819. ...

and then on another station near Bathurst which he later owned.

Political career

In 1887 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member for West Macquarie. He did not re-contest in 1889. In 1895 he was appointed to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

, where he remained until his death. He was a brother-in-law to fellow politicians Charles Barton and Sir Joseph Innes.

Personal life

Smith married Emily Grace Machattie on 25 January 1866. They had no children, but adopted a daughter, Violet Kathleen Marion, who married Lieutenant-Colonel Chetwynd Rokeby Alfred Bond, who served in the Indian Staff Corps. Smith died at Bathurst on , and his estate was valued at £76,810.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Fergus 1843 births 1924 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Free Trade Party politicians People educated at The King's School, Parramatta