Henry Mort (23 December 1818 – 6 September 1900) was a pastoralist, businessman, and politician 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 ...

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 ...

, Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and a

Member of 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 ...

Early life

Henry Mort was born on 23 December 1818 at Willowfield,

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England, the son of Jonathon Mort and his wife Mary (née Sutcliffe). He was educated in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and came to Australia in 1840. From about 1841 to 1855 he was one of the pioneers in the Moreton Bay district (now the

State of 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 ...

) working on pastoral stations. He was manager of Cressbrook Station in the Brisbane River Valley for David Cannon McConnel. Then in 1849, his brother Thomas Sutcliffe Mort leased the Laidley Plains pastoral station and appointed Henry Mort as manager. Henry Mort converted the station from sheep to cattle. In 1852, Henry Mort and his brother-in-law James Laidley took over the lease with Mort managing the Franklyn Vale portion of the station. On 6 My 1846 he married Maria Laidley, the daughter of James Laidley (senior), in

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...

. In 1855, Henry Mort moved to Sydney and became a partner in his brother's woolbroking business Mort & Co, later

Goldsbrough Mort & Co Goldsbrough Mort & Co was an Australian agricultural business. History In 1843 Thomas Sutcliffe Mort established a business which operated as auctioneers and brokers in the wool trade. The business took on partners and become known as Mort & Co ...

. He was involved in many insurance companies and banks and one of the promoters of the Sydney Meat Preserving Company.

Politics

Mort represented

West Moreton West Moreton is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, consisting of the entire rural western portion of South East Queensland. It sits inland from both the Brisbane metropolitan area and the Gold Coast and to the east of the Darling Do ...

(then part of New South Wales) 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 ...

from June 1859 to the seat's abolition with the

separation of Queensland The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day State of Queensland in Australia was excised from the Colony of New South Wales and created as a separate Colony of Queensland. History European set ...

in December 1859. He then represented West Macquarie from December 1859 to November 1860. He was appointed a lifetime

on 22 Aug 1882.

Later life

Henry Mort donated £3,000 to the construction of All Saints Anglican Church in Ocean Street,

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woolla ...

; Mort lived in that street and his eldest son Henry Wallace Mort was the rector of the church. Mort died from pneumonia at his residence Anglesea, Ocean Street, Woollahra, Sydney on 6 September 1900 aged 81 years. His funeral proceeded from his Woollahra residence to the All Saints Church and then to the St Jude's Church and Cemetery for burial.

Legacy

The now heritage-listed Franklyn Vale Homestead in Grandchester, Queensland was established on Henry Mort's Franklyn Vale property in the early 1870s for his daughter and son-in-law, Edward Crace. Henry Mort was an occasional visitor to the property. The locality of Mount Mort in the vicinity of the homestead is named after the Mort family. All Saints Anglican Church is a heritage building.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mort, Henry Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1818 births 1900 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians