Matthew Hervey (27 January 1820 – 1 December 1874) was a politician in colonial

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 ...

and Commissioner of Public Works. Hervey was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, when eighteen years of age he emigrated to

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 ...

, New South Wales, and ultimately was largely engaged in pastoral pursuits in the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

, which in 1851 was constituted the separate colony of Victoria. He played two

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches for

in 1851 and 1852. Hervey was elected to the part-nominated

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 Co ...

on 3 June 1853 for the Murray district and sworn-in August 1853. When responsible government was achieved he was returned to the first wholly elective Legislative Council for the Eastern Province in November 1856. From March 1861 to November 1862 he was acting president of the latter body during the absence in England of Sir

James Frederick Palmer Sir James Frederick Palmer (7 June 1803 – 23 April 1871) was a medical practitioner, Victorian pioneer, first President of the Victorian Legislative Council and Mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City o ...

. When the

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 ...

Ministry was formed in June 1863 Hervey accepted a portfolio as Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner of Public Works. Hervey resigned both his office and his seat in Parliament in July 1865, owing to having met with pecuniary reverses. Misfortune still continued to pursue him, and he died in Turnbull Plains, Benalla district, Victoria, under very sudden and distressing circumstances on 1 December 1874, when a coroner's jury returned a verdict that death had resulted from insufficient nourishment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hervey, Matthew 1820 births 1874 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Scottish emigrants to Australia Politicians from Glasgow Victoria cricketers Scottish cricketers Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers 19th-century Australian politicians