Josceline George Herbert Amherst (7 June 1846 – 1 February 1900) was a member of the first

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

under

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

. He also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

Biography

Josceline Amherst was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in London on 7 June 1846, the fifth son of William Pitt Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, matriculated to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

but did not graduate. He became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1874. As a cricketer he played his games for

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

and the Gentlemen of Kent. His highest score of 7 came when playing for Marylebone Cricket Club in the match against

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

. His best bowling of 2/26 came when playing for the Gentlemen of Kent in the match against the Gentlemen of Marylebone Cricket Club. From 1881 to 1883, Amherst was private secretary to Sir

William Des Vœux Sir George William Des Vœux (22 September 1834 – 15 December 1909) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of Fiji (1880–1885), Newfoundland (1886–1887), and Hong Kong (1887–1891). Early life Des Vœux was born as ...

Governor of Fiji Fiji was a British Crown colony from 1874 to 1970, and an independent dominion in the Commonwealth from 1970 to 1987. During this period, the head of state was the British monarch, but in practice his or her functions were normally exercised loca ...

. In June 1885, he emigrated to Western Australia, where he took up an appointment as private secretary to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Frederick Broome Sir Frederick Napier Broome (18 November 1842 – 26 November 1896) was a colonial administrator in the British Empire, serving in Natal, Mauritius, Western Australia, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Western Australian towns of Broom ...

and Clerk to the Executive Council, which positions he held until 1887. He then returned to London for a brief period, arriving back in Western Australia in March 1888. He then established himself on his ''Holmesdale'' property at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. On 24 December 1890, he was nominated by the governor to Western Australia's first Legislative Council under responsible government. He remained on the Council until June 1894, when it became elective. In 1897 Amherst went into partnership with a Dr A. R. Waylen, establishing a

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

at Smith's Mill. He later became President of the Swan Vine and Fruit Growers Association. In 1897 he also became a director of the WA Mortgage and Agency Company. For a time he was also President of the Royal Agricultural Society in Western Australia. He died at Darlington on 1 February 1900. He was unmarried.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amherst, Josceline George Herbert 1846 births 1900 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Sportspeople from Canterbury English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Younger sons of earls English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Cricketers from Kent