John Alexander MacPherson (15 October 1833 – 17 February 1894),

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

colonial politician, was the 7th

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly ...

. MacPherson was born at his father's property of ''Springbank'' on the

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, 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 ...

(the present site of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

): he was the first Premier of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

born in Australia. His father was a Scottish

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pastoralist. He came to the

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as a child with his family and was educated at Scotch College,

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 ...

and the

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, where he graduated in law. He was admitted to the Victorian bar in 1866 and practised law before becoming a pastoralist near

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in the Western District. MacPherson was elected as a conservative to the Legislative Assembly for

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in November 1864, and for

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in February 1866. In September 1869, when the liberal Premier

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

resigned, MacPherson was commissioned as Premier; at 35 years and 11 months, he became Victoria's youngest Premier. His government was in a weak parliamentary position and had little prospect of survival. However it did succeed in passing an effective land selection act, allowing small farmers to select land on the

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s' pastoral runs, before being defeated in the Assembly and resigning in April 1870. MacPherson served as Chief Secretary in the third McCulloch government in 1875 to 1877, before retiring from politics in July 1878, still aged only 44. In 1880 he moved to England and settled in

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, where he died in 1894. He married Louisa Featherstonhaugh ( ) in 1858: they had seven children.

References

*Geoff Browne, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84'', Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985 *Don Garden, ''Victoria: A History'', Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984 *Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, ''A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900'', Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972 * Raymond Wright, ''A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, John Alexander 1833 births 1894 deaths Premiers of Victoria Victoria (Australia) state politicians Australian people of Scottish descent People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian lawyers