Sir George Fairbairn (23 March 1855 – 23 October 1943) was a pastoralist and Australian politician. Fairbairn was born in Geelong, Victoria and educated at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. He rowed for Jesus College Boat Club in 1875 and 1876, the first two years of an 11-year stretch up to 1885 when it won the Cambridge head of the river races. His younger brother Steve went on to become an influential rowing coach at the club. Fairbairn returned to Australia in 1876 and in the following years managed Peak Downs and Barcaldine stations in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He married Jessie Kate Prell in November 1880 and they had a son and a daughter. In 1890, he took over the family farm at

Lara, Victoria Lara is a town in Victoria, 18 km north-east of the Geelong CBD, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Its population at the 2016 census was 16,355. History The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, b ...

and subsequently acquired other farms in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and developed numerous business interests. He was president of the Employers' Federation of Australia for six years. In 1903 Fairbairn 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 ...

seat of Toorak which he held until 1906 when he resigned to contest the newly created seat of

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The ma ...

in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

. Fairbairn won Fawkner at the 1906 election. Fairbairn was endorsed by the Anti-Socialists, but campaigned 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 ...

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. He did not sit with the Anti-Socialists.1906 election Victorian House results: Adam Carr
/ref> In 1909, he helped create the union of the non-

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

parties into the "fusion" He lost Fawkner in the 1913 election, following an adverse electoral redistribution, but he was elected to the Senate from 1917 election, but did not stand for re-election at the 1922 election. Fairbairn's first wife died in 1921 and he married Lorna Bessie in 1924. He was Agent-General for Victoria in London from 1924 to 1927. He was knighted in 1926. He was survived by his second wife and his son, Clive Prell Fairbairn. He was grandfather of David Fairbairn, member for

Farrer Farrer may refer to People * Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer (1862� ...

from 1949 to 1975 and government minister from 1962 to 1972. He was uncle of

James Fairbairn James Valentine Fairbairn (28 July 1897 – 13 August 1940) was an Australian aviator and politician. A World War I fighter pilot, he represented the United Australia Party (UAP) in federal parliament and served as Minister for Air and Civil ...

, a Minister for Civil Aviation from 1939 until his death in a plane crash in 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, George Victoria (state) state politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Fawkner Members of the Australian House of Representatives Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Knights Bachelor Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge 1855 births 1943 deaths Agents-General for Victoria 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Geelong Grammar School