Richard Baker (1830 – 10 March 1915) was an Australian politician. Born in the village of Newbridge, in the parish of Shalfleet on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

to Peter Baker and Ruth Tucker, he attended a grammar school at

Shalfleet Shalfleet is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. it is located between Yarmouth and Newport in the northwest of the island. Background The name "Shalfleet" means "shallow stream". The stream in this case is the stream passing thr ...

and arrived in

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 ...

in 1854, settling as a miner in Ballarat. He married Caroline Saunders, with whom he had seven children. In 1883 he was elected to the

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

as the member for

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...

, changing seats to Lowan in 1889, which he represented until 1894. From 1893 to 1894 he was Minister for Public Instruction. Baker died at Caulfield in 1915.

References

1830 births 1915 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria Politicians from the Isle of Wight Politicians from Melbourne Politicians from Ballarat {{Australia-politician-stub