James Watson (17 December 1837 – 30 October 1907) was an Australian politician,

Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

1878 to 1883.

Early life

Watson was born at

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

, in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

, Ireland, and educated at the Church of England school in his native town. He emigrated to the colony of

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 ...

early in life, and engaged in mercantile pursuits, initially in partnership with his brothers at Lambing Flat (

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

). Provisions for their store were obtained from John Frazer & Co., a partnership between John Frazer and his brother in law

James Ewan James Ewan J.P. () was a Scottish Australians, Scottish-born Australian financier, mercantilist, and philanthropist. He held a number of high-profile financial positions, including being a long time partner in John Frazer and Co., Chairman of th ...

. Frazer retired from the running of the business in 1869 and Watson joined Ewan as a partner in the firm. On 8 April 1871 Watson married Margaret Salmon Ewan, another of Ewan's sisters. Glanworth, Darling Point, Sydney NSW (The Honorable James Watson)

Glanworth, Darling Point, Sydney NSW (The Honorable James Watson)

Political career

He was a candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of The Lachlan, which included the town of Young, at the election in December 1869, serving until 1880 when the district was abolished. He initially supported the ministry of James Martin, before becoming a supporter of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has ...

in 1872. He remained independent however and vigorously pursued Parkes'

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

, George Lloyd, in parliament in relation to the lease of

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...

and voted against Parkes in relation to the release of the

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

Frank Gardiner Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1882) was an Australian bushranger who gained infamy for his lead role in the a robbery of a gold escort at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. It is considered the largest gold heist in Australian history. Gard ...

. The censure motion was defeated only by the casting vote of the

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, however it brought about the downfall of the Parkes government. He declined a position in the fourth Robertson ministry. Watson was

Colonial Treasurer Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

in the third Parkes ministry from December 1878 to January 1883. The district of The Lachlan was abolished in the 1880 redistribution, and Watson chose to contest the new 2 member district of Young. He was successful at the election in November 1880, serving with the unrelated

William Watson William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to: Entertainment * William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter * William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet * Billy Watson (actor) (1923–2022), Ame ...

, but was defeated at the election for Young in December 1882, and 5 days later was unsuccessful in contesting

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

. He was returned to the Legislative Assembly at the Gundagai by-election in April 1884 serving until parliament was dissolved in October 1885, but did stand at the 1885 election. In February 1887 was appointed to 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 ...

Later life and death

Margaret was unwell and they visited England, however Margaret died shortly after their return in 1886. Ewan and Watson liquidated the firm of John Frazer & Co. in 1891, with "all the partners retiring on fairly ample fortunes". In 1897 Watson became a director of the

Australian Joint Stock Bank The Australian Joint Stock Bank was a bank in Australia. It operated from 1852 to 1910, after which it became the Australian Bank of Commerce and then was taken over by the Bank of New South Wales in 1931. History The Australian Joint Stock Ban ...

. He died at his home Glanworth,

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to t ...

on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, James 1837 births 1907 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Treasurers of New South Wales 19th-century Australian politicians