Richard Jones (1786 – 6 November 1852) was an English-born politician 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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

(then part of New South Wales), Australia.

Early life

Jones was born at

Chirbury Chirbury () is a village in west Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Vale of Montgomery, close to the Wales–England border ( at its nearest), which is to its north, west and south. The A490 and B4386 routes cross at Chirbury. It is th ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

to Thomas Bowdler Jones, small landowner and brewer, and Elizabeth Ann (née) Philips. He was a clerk in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before migrating to

, where he became a merchant and pastoralist. In 1823 he married Mary Louisa Peterson, with whom he had eight children.

Politics

On 30 January 1829, Jones was an appointed member of 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 ...

, a role he held until 5 January 1843. In 1832, the Council changed from a fully appointed body to become a body of 36 members with 12 appointed and 24 elected. From 17 July 1843 Jones continued as an appointed member of the Council. However, even as he appointed, his merchantile business was suffering in the economic downturn that prevailed from 1842 to 1844. In August 1843, he was unable to pay debts of £180,000 and he became

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet inso ...

in October 1843, forcing him to resign from the Council, effective 1 November 1843. Barrister

Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British statesman, was a pivotal conservative spokesman who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William E ...

was appointed to the Council to replace him. Having moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

(then part of New South Wales but later in

), on 1 October 1850 Jones was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the

electoral district of Counties of Gloucester, Macquarie, and Stanley The Electoral district of Counties of Gloucester, Macquarie, and Stanley and from 1851, Gloucester and Macquarie, was an electorate of the partially elected New South Wales Legislative Council, created for the first elections for the Council in ...

(Brisbane being within the County of Stanley). He held the position until 30 June 1851, when the electorate was split into three separate electorates. He was then elected on 1 September 1851 to the Council as the member for the new

electoral district of Stanley Boroughs Stanley Boroughs was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales created in 1856 election, named after the County of Stanley (part of Queensland after 1859) and including the towns of North Br ...

, which included North Brisbane (the settled areas north of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

, Kangaroo Point and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. He held that position until his death on 6 November 1852.

Later life

While 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 ...

where the Legislative Council met, Jones had a paralytic fit. He returned to his home in

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

, where he died on Saturday 6 November 1852. On Sunday 7 November 1952, his body was taken by boat to Brisbane where was buried in the

North Brisbane Burial Ground The North Brisbane Burial Ground was a former cemetery in the Town of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was in the area now known as the suburbs of Milton and Paddington. It was also known as North Brisbane Cemetery, Paddington Cemetery and M ...

with Church of England rites conducted by Reverend H.O. Irwin from St John's. It was estimated that 300 to 400 people attended the burial

Legacy

One of his sons, also called

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

was appointed as a member of the Legislative Council in 1899 until his death in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Richard 1786 births 1852 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian people in whaling Australian ship owners 19th-century Australian businesspeople English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians