Robert Palmer Abbott (1830 – 31 October 1901) was a politician and solicitor in

colonial New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

, a member of both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. Abbott was born in

Broadford, County Clare Broadford () is a small village in eastern County Clare, Ireland and a Catholic parish of the same name. The R466 road passes through the village of Broadford between O'Callaghan's Mills and O'Briens Bridge. It is tucked into the Glenomra Val ...

in Ireland, and emigrated to Sydney as a boy with his parents, Eleanor, née Kingsmill and Thomas Abbott, policeman, arriving in the colony in 1838. He was admitted a solicitor in 1854, subsequently specialising in litigation concerning the

Robertson Land Acts The Crown Lands Acts 1861 (NSW) (or Robertson Land Acts) were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings in New South Wales and in particular to break the Squattocracy's domination of land tenure. ...

, and had opened an office in Tamworth. Abbott ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Legislative Assembly at the 1869 election for

Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...

, and the 1871 New England by-election, before winning the 1872 election for Tenterfield, serving as the member for Tenterfield until his defeat at the 1877 election. He was

Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines is a now defunct office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade. In 1929, the department took over responsibility for petroleum. In 1940, the department was divided with Geoffrey L ...

in the first ministry of

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has ...

from 27 July 1874 until 8 February 1875, and was Mayor of East St Leonards from February 1878 until February 1879. He returned to the Assembly as the member for Hartley at the 1880 election. He was nominated to the Legislative Council in 1885, and sat till 1 March 1888, when he resigned, owing to his objection to certain appointments. He was a member of the New South Wales Commission in London for the

Colonial and Indian Exhibition The Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 was held in South Kensington in London with the objective to (in the words of the then Prince of Wales) "stimulate commerce and strengthen the bonds of union now existing in every portion of her Majes ...

of 1886. He assisted his cousin, Joseph Abbott, be elected at the 1888 Newtown by-election, while his nephew, Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, served in the Legislative Assembly for 21 years, including 10 years as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. Abbott never married and died at Tempe on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Robert Palmer Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1830 births 1901 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of East St Leonards