Francis Arthur "Old Frank" Byrne (1837 – 30 June 1923) was Member of 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 ...
for the
electoral district of Hay 1898–1903.
Early life
He was born in
Singleton, New South Wales
Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney, and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of Newcastle. At June 2018, Singleton had an urban pop ...
to Peter Byrne, a miner, and Sarah ,
and had a very limited education.
He married Elizabeth Susan Grace in 1865 and subsequently Sarah Ann Tate ( – 1 May 1908).
He had three sons and three daughters.
Career
He was engaged in the coach business with
Cobb and Co., for some time at
Castlemaine before settling in the
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
district around 1870, working mostly at
Balranald
Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia.
The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-deser ...
,
Wilcannia
Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th ce ...
and
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
. He was interested in current affairs, read newspapers voraciously, and with his genial manner, excellent memory and huge fund of anecdotes was popular with a broad range of the travelling public.
Politics
He was mayor of Hay for two three-year terms, from 1894, and active in the Hospital committee. He became involved in the campaign for
Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
.
He stood as a
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 econ ...
candidate at the
1898 election for the
Legislative Assembly for
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
and was elected.
He was a good local member and achieved several advantages, including the Darlington Point bridge, for his district.
He was re-elected unopposed as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
at the
1901 election,
but suffered from ill health and did not contest the 1904 election.
With health improving, he attempted to re-enter parliament for the seat of
Murray in 1907, but was unsuccessful,
and retired to the Sydney suburb of
Newtown.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Frank
1923 deaths
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
1837 births