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
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, 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
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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