James Robert Wilshire (29 July 1809 – 30 August 1860) was an Australian politician. He was a member of 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 ...

between 1855 and 1856 and again from 1858 until his death. He was also a member of 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 ...

for one term between 1856 and 1857.

Personal life

Wilshire was the second son of a successful Sydney tanner, James Wilshire and his wife Esther, ''née'' Pitt. The Wilshires were one of the oldest colonial families in

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, James's grandfather, also James Wilshire, having arrived in the colony in 1800. Wilshire was educated privately and worked in his father's tannery which he inherited in 1840. He married twice, first to Elizabeth Thompson (in 1836) and, following her death in 1846, married her younger sister, Sarah in 1847. He had twelve children in all, five with Elizabeth, and then seven with Sarah. His oldest, James Thompson Wilshire, became a politician, and his youngest (born a week after his death),

Henry Austin Wilshire Henry Austin Wilshire (HA Wilshire) was an architect and prominent member of Sydney society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was an active and innovative architect, and a contributor to the community through interests in town plan ...

, became a well-known architect.

Political activity

In November 1842 he was elected as a Councillor of the first Sydney Council, and served as the third

Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

from 25 September 1843 until November 1844. Wilshire was a political supporter of

John Dunmore Lang John Dunmore Lang (25 August 1799 – 8 August 1878) was a Scottish-born Australian Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, politician and activist. He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian re ...

and a strident opponent of the reintroduction of

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. He was a generous supporter of the

Benevolent Society The Benevolent Society, founded by Edward Smith Hall in 1813, is Australia's first and oldest charity. The society is an independent, not-for-profit organization whose main goals include helping families, older Australians and people with disabili ...

. In January 1855, prior to the establishment of responsible self-government, Wilshire was returned to the semi-elected Legislative Council for

City of Sydney 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, th ...

. He represented the electorate of Sydney City in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 13 March 1856 to 19 December 1857. Subsequently, at the

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election under the new constitution he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as one of the four members for the same seat. Wilshire was defeated at the next election, in 1858. He did not hold a ministerial or parliamentary position. Following his defeat he accepted a five-year appointment to the Legislative Council which he retained until his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilshire, James 1809 births 1860 deaths Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Burials at Gore Hill Cemetery