John Thomas Campbell (1770–1830) was a public servant and politician in 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 ...

during the early

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n colonial period.

Early life

Campbell was born in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

in 1770. He was eldest son of Reverend William Campbell, vicar of

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

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 his wife Mary Campbell (née McCammon). He and his brothers were educated at home by his father. From 1793 to 1795, he worked at the newly formed

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

Vice-regal secretary

After arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Campbell, on 1 January 1810 was appointed to the role of vice-regal 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 ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

. For eleven years he was Macquarie's chief assistant in the administration of the colony, his intimate friend and loyal supporter. He was paid £282 10 s by the British government, to which Macquarie added £82 10s from the colonial revenue. He then served as

Provost Marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

from 1820 until the office was abolished and a sheriff appointed in 1825. Campbell took a leading part in the founding of the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

from 1816 until 1817 and was appointed as the first president of the Board of Directors, serving until 1821. He was re-elected to the board in 1827 but resigned before taking his seat. In 1821 he was treasurer of the committee in charge of building the first Catholic church in Sydney, St Mary's, although he was not himself a Catholic.

Politics

In 1824, Governor Sir

Thomas Brisbane Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...

suggested his name for appointment to the new Legislative Council. In 1826, Governor (Sir)

Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. He is popularly described as a tyrant, accused of torturing prisoners and banning theatrical entertain ...

made him a member of the Land Board, and of the Board for General Purposes constituted to reorganize the administrative offices of government. In April 1827, Darling appointed him collector of customs as well, in place of John Piper, at a salary of £1200, but he resigned from this post in December. He was replaced by Michael Cotton. In 1829, he became a member of the newly extended Legislative Council and served in the role until his death.

Private life

As a private citizen, Campbell was a large landholder and a most efficient farmer and breeder of cattle and horses. In 1811, Macquarie granted him at

Bringelly Bringelly is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Northern Road between Penrith and Camden. It has a public school. Bringelly is also the name of a local hill. History Bringelly was a name given to ...

, and later he received a grant near

Rooty Hill Rooty Hill is a heritage-listed historic site and now parkland at Eastern Road, Rooty Hill, City of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1802 to 1828. It is also known as The Rooty Hill and Morreau Reserve. The property is ...

. He was also a large stock-holder in southern New South Wales. He never married and had no children.

Death

Campbell died in

on 7 January 1830 at the age of 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John 1770 births 1830 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian people of Irish descent Presidents of the Bank of New South Wales Australian book and manuscript collectors