John George Aikman (24 June 1858 – 29 July 1928) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a po ...

to surveyor Robert Aikman and Ann Davis Woodman. He attended a private school in Brunswick, leaving at the age of twelve to work as a printer's assistant. He then became a draper, co-owning several stores until 1893, when he purchased Richards and Company and Wallachs, a

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

-based firm. On 14 July 1887 he married Alice Jean Semple, with whom he had two sons. He also owned some pastoral land, and served on Essendon Town Council from 1897 to 1908 (mayor from 1898–1900) and

Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The c ...

from 1904 to 1928 ( Lord Mayor 1919–20). In 1904 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative C ...

for

Melbourne West Province Melbourne West Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1904 until 2006. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province was reduced in size (four members down to two), North Yarra Province and South Yarra Pro ...

. A non-

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member, he lost to Labor candidate

Daniel McNamara Daniel Laurence McNamara (28 March 1876 – 28 December 1947) was an Australian politician. He was born at Pomborneit to farmer Michael McNamara and Mary Taff. He worked as a produce agent in Melbourne from 1906 to 1909, and in 1907 joined ...

in 1916 but was returned on petition. He was defeated again in 1922 and left state politics, but remained on Melbourne City Council. Aikman was also involved in sports administration, serving as the inaugural president of the Essendon Town Football Club from its establishment in 1900, then as president of the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

from 1903 until his death in 1928. Aikman died in Toorak in 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikman, John 1858 births 1928 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Mayors and Lord Mayors of Melbourne VFA/VFL administrators People from Prahran, Victoria 19th-century Australian businesspeople Victoria (Australia) local councillors 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian businesspeople 20th-century Australian politicians