Sir George Wigram Allen (16 May 1824 – 23 July 1885) was an Australian politician and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 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 ...

1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he showed dignity, courtesy and ability; it was said of him: 'A man of calm judgment and much practical wisdom'.

Early life

Allen was born in

Surry Hills, New South Wales Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

, the eldest son of

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

(attorney and solicitor) and his wife Jane, ''née'' Bowden. He was educated under

William Cape William Timothy Cape (25 October 1806 – 4 June 1863) was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the Premiers of New South Wales attended his school. Cape was born at Walworth, Surrey, England, the son of William Cape, a Lon ...

and at Sydney College, where he showed ability in classics and mathematics. In 1841, Allen was articled to his father and he became a solicitor in 1846.

Legal career

The following year Allen entered a partnership with his father as a solicitor and today that firm is known as Allens and is the oldest in Australia. He was also a director of many public companies including the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

Public office

In 1859 Allen became the first chairman and mayor of the

Municipality of The Glebe The Municipality of The Glebe was a Local government in Australia, local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed on 1 August 1859 and, with an area of 2 square kilometres, included the modern suburbs ...

, a position he held until 1877. He was appointed a commissioner of national education in 1853 and held the position until 1867 and was nominated 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 ...

in 1860 and remained there until May 1861. In 1869 Allen was elected a member of the

for

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, and from December 1873 to February 1875 was Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in the first ministry of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has ...

. In the following March he was elected

and remained in that position until January 1883. Allen retired from politics in August 1883 and died suddenly on 23 July 1885.

Marriage

Allen married Marian Boyce (1835–1914), eldest daughter of the Rev.

William Boyce William Boyce may refer to: *William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick * William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia *William Waters Boyce ( ...

, in July 1851 and they lived at ''Strathmore'', opposite his father's home Toxteth Park. In 1881 they moved to ''Toxteth Park'' having added a third storey, a tower and various embellishments such as a ballroom. The Allens entertained there on a grand scale. Lady Allen was an active charitable worker. She was involved with the boarding out of orphan children from the Benevolent Asylum and was a co-founder of the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

. The marriage produced six sons and four daughters.

Honours

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1877. In 1884 he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, George Wigram 1824 births 1885 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of Newington College Council Australian Methodists Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Lawyers from Sydney 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of The Glebe