George Paton Smith (1829 – 9 December 1877) was a politician and

Attorney-General of Victoria The Attorney-General of Victoria, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for Victoria, is a minister in the Government of Victoria, Australia. The Attorney-General is a senior minister in the state government and the Firs ...

. Smith was born at Berwick-on-Tweed, England, son of James Smith and Jessie ''née'' Paton. In 1855 he emigrated to

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 ...

and started as a draper in Sandhurst (now Bendigo). In 1858 he relinquished business, and took employment in Melbourne as a reporter on '' The Argus''. The next year he became editor of the ''Leader'', the weekly journal published in connection with the ''

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, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' and of the latter paper was subsequently sub-editor and, for a short time, editor. Whilst engaged as a journalist, Smith was admitted to the Victorian Bar in September 1861, and in 1865 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 presidin ...

for South Bourke as a Liberal and Protectionist. From July 1868 to September 1869 Smith was Attorney-General in the second

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

Ministry, but at the General Election in January 1871 he did not seek re-election for South Bourke. On 17 May 1870 a disgruntled Irish-born previous employee at ''The Age'', Gerald Supple, shot Smith in

La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of Melbourne's central business district. The street wa ...

, inflicting a wound to Smith's elbow and killing a bystander. In 1874, Smith was again returned unopposed, and sat till 1877, when the constituency was divided, and Smith was returned for the

Boroondara The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn. It has an area of ...

portion. Smith died on 9 December 1877.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George Paton 1829 births 1877 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Attorneys-General of the Colony of Victoria Australian newspaper editors 19th-century journalists Australian male journalists 19th-century male writers 19th-century Australian politicians The Argus (Melbourne) people Attorneys-General of Victoria