Joseph Mitchell (Evening News (Sydney) Sat 23 Oct 1897 Page 6 )

Joseph Earl Cherry Mitchell (22 July 1840 – 22 October 1897) was an English-born Australian politician and businessman. He was born in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

to shipbuilder Richard Mitchell and Margaret Cherry. He was his father's apprentice when they arrived in

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 ...

in 1859. He then established himself in Newtown as a coal merchant, subsequently becoming a successful figure in the coal industry. In 1866 he married Charlotte Harrison at

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

; they had eight children. He was a Methodist. Mitchell was elected four times to 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 ...

Business career

Mitchell began as a coal merchant and did much to popularise coal from the Western coalfields around Lithgow. He later acquired interests in collieries and shipping, including a major interest in both the South Bulli Mine and the Bellambi Colliery. From around 1890 up to his death in 1897, Mitchell led efforts to form a syndicate of English capitalists, to set up an iron and steel works, and to win a contract to supply the N.S.W. Government with steel rails. His endeavours were complicated by both the lukewarm support of labour unions—who were in favour of a state-owned iron and steel industry in New South Wales—and the fraudulent efforts of Alfred John Lambert. G & C Hoskins emerged as a rival for the contract but only if it were subject to a

protective tariff Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. They aim to make imported goods cost more than equivalent goods produced domestically, thereby causing sales of domestically produced goods to rise, ...

. Mitchell continued to argue that the industry could be established, without protection. Unfortunately, although Mitchell eventually won the contract in 1897, he died before he could fulfil it. Although Mitchell had earlier considered the

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 ...

as a location for his iron and steel works, the final form of his proposal was that the works were to be sited adjacent to the (former) Pipers Flat railway station, near

Wallerawang Wallerawang is a small township in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately northwest of Lithgow, New South Wales, Lithgow adjacent to the Great Western Highway. It is also located on the Main Western ra ...

, and would have exploited nearby deposits of iron ore, limestone and coal. The works were never built.

Political career

Mitchell was first elected to the

in 1881 as the member for Newtown, but he was defeated the following year. He returned to the Assembly in 1883, but was defeated again in 1885. In 1888 he was elected as a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

r and was re-elected for

in 1889, but he was in Europe at the time of nominations for the 1891 election and therefore was unable to contest. He unsuccessfully contested a by-election later in the same year, and contested

Woronora Woronora is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woronora is located 27 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Woronora Heights is a ...

in 1894 and Newtown-Camperdown in 1895, without success. In the early 1880s, his political views were in favour of free trade and, generally, in support of the government 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 ...

but he was not originally a member of the political grouping led by Parkes. After the Free Trade Party was formed (1887), he stood as a Free Trade Party candidate.

Death and legacy

He died at his home, 'Milton House' at

Bellambi Bellambi () is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a railway station (opened 1889) on the NSW TrainLink South Coast Line. Bellambi is situated directly north of Corrimal and east of Russell Vale. ...

, on 22 October 1897, of cancer. His grave is in the Methodist section of Rookwood Cemetery. Mitchell Road,

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, N.S.W. is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Joseph 1840 births 1897 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople