Jacob Fotheringham (19 October 1865 - 20 June 1924) was an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n politician. He was a liberal member of the
Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1902, representing the electorate of
Footscray.
Fotheringham was born in
Sebastopol, near
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
, and moved to
Footscray with his family at the age of seven. He was educated at Hyde Street State School and Carlton College before leaving school at the age of 14. He worked for the firms of Patterson, Laing and Bruce and then Brooks, McGlashan and McClarg, rising through the ranks of the latter, and listed his profession as "salesman" at the time of his election. He held a series of prominent sporting roles: treasurer of the
Footscray Football Club, secretary of the Footscray Rowing Club and secretary of the
Victorian Football Association, and was heavily involved in the local branches of the
Australian Natives Association.
Fotheringham was elected to the Legislative Assembly at a
1901 by-election
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
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* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
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Music ...
for the seat of Footscray following
Samuel Mauger
Samuel Mauger (pronounced "major"; 12 November 1857 – 26 June 1936) was an Australian social reformer and politician. He served in the Victorian Legislative Assembly (1900–1901) and the Australian House of Representatives (1901–1910), incl ...
's resignation to enter the inaugural federal parliament, winning by only 45 votes. During the campaign, he had declared that he was a "thorough protectionist", supported reform of the state parliament in light of
Federation, opposed rural malapportionment of parliamentary seats, supported women's suffrage, and advocated for uniform national factory legislation. However, several months later, he moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
for business interests, and belatedly resigned his seat in May 1902 following criticism for not having done so sooner given that he had permanently moved out of the state.
Following his resignation, Fotheringham managed the millinery department for Sydney softgoods business W & A McArthur Ltd, and later became the firm's resident buyer in
London. On 25 February 1917, he was on board the
Cunard liner ''Laconia'' when it was torpedoed by
German forces off the coast of
Ireland during
World War I with many fatalities. He was rescued after ten hours in a lifeboat, and was widely interviewed (including by the
New York Times) about the horrors of the sinking. He contracted
tuberculosis following the incident, which negatively affected his health for the rest of his life.
In 1918, he was manager of the Australian Straw Hat Factory. In 1922, he went into business on his own, establishing millinery manufacturing and importing firm Fotheringhams Ltd., which he operated until his death.
Fotheringham died at his home in the Sydney suburb of
Mosman in 1924 and was buried at the Northern Suburbs Cemetery (now
Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fotheringham, Jacob
1865 births
1924 deaths
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly