Sir Henry Watson Parker, (1 June 1808 – 2 February 1881) was

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...

. He fitted into colonial society and politics in the era before responsible government, but his style was not suited to the democratic politics that began to develop in 1856.

Biography

Parker was the fourth son of Thomas Watson Parker and his wife Mary, née Cornell, of

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

, Kent, England. In order to improve his poor health, he joined the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

and travelled to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, China and the Cape of Good Hope. Subsequently he toured France, Holland and Belgium, before securing employment in 1837 as private secretary to Sir

George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly conte ...

. In 1838 in this capacity he accompanied Gipps, now the incoming colonial Governor, to the Colony of New South Wales. In 1843 Parker married Emmeline Emily, third daughter of John Macarthur, which further linked him to the conservative colonial establishment. In 1846 he was nominated by Gipps to become a member of the Legislative Council. In May of that year he was elected Chairman of Committees (Deputy presiding officer of the upper house) at a salary of £250 (raised to £500 in 1853), and continued to be re-elected to this position until the introduction of responsible government in 1856. Parker was elected as member for

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

in the first Legislative Assembly and was a candidate for the speakership in May, but was defeated by one vote, with Daniel Cooper being elected. In September 1856 John Hay carried a vote of no-confidence in the Cowper ministry. He recommended to Governor

William Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival S ...

that Parker would be the most likely man to conciliate parties, and that he should be asked to form a coalition government.

Premier

Parker offered seats in the cabinet to Cowper and

Stuart Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales. Early life Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first t ...

, the preceding premiers, but Cowper declined. In March 1857 Parker passed an act re-establishing the

Sydney municipal council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842 ...

, and other useful legislation was also passed. It had been intended to bring in a land bill but the government was defeated on its electoral bill, and Parker resigned on 4 September 1857. In 1858 he returned to England. He does not appear to have ever revisited Australia, and died at

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

, in 1881. He was survived by his wife, without issue, and left an estate of £140,000.

Honours

Parker was knighted in 1858 and created Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1877.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Henry Watson 1808 births 1881 deaths Colonial Secretaries of New South Wales Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George English emigrants to colonial Australia Premiers of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians

Biography

Premier

Honours

See also

Notes