Godfrey Downes Carter (1830 – 29 April 1902) was an Australian businessman, politician and

mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Melbourne, a Local government in Australia, local government area of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Mayors (1842–1902) Lord mayors (1902–1980) The title of "Lord ...

from 1884 to 1885. Born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

the son of a slaveholder, Carter was educated in England, and migrated to Australia in 1853. He would ultimately benefit from the compensation his father received from the British government for 22 slaves upon the abolition of slavery. Following his term as mayor, Carter represented the Electoral district of West Melbourne in 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 ...

from 1885 to 1889. Carter died in

South Yarra, Victoria South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Sto ...

on 29 April 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Godfrey Downes 1830 births 1902 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia Mayors and Lord Mayors of Melbourne Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Treasurers of Victoria Jamaican emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian politicians