Robert Byrne (1821 – 24 March 1909) was a politician in colonial

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

and

Treasurer of Victoria The Treasurer of Victoria is the title held by the Cabinet Minister who is responsible for the financial management of the budget sector in the Australian state of Victoria. This primarily includes:Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the son of Robert Byrne. He left Ireland for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1848, and settled there, carrying on the business of general auctioneer in that city as well as in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Towards the end of 1852 he left America for Victoria, arriving 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 February 1853, he commenced auctioneering at Sandridge, now called

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

, and represented the district in the Melbourne Corporation prior to its being constituted a separate municipality. At the general election of 1864 Byrne contested

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England. History The original name was "Saundruage" meaning a place of sandy soil serviced by bond tenants. The earliest recorded mention of Sandrid ...

for a seat in 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 presiding ...

in the Liberal interest against the Hon. David Moore, but was defeated by three votes, and was unsuccessful on petition. Shortly afterwards he was returned for Crowlands by a very large majority. In 1869, when Sir

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 ...

went outside the House for a Commissioner of Customs, Byrne carried a motion censuring the Government, which was taken by them as a vote of want of confidence, on which they resigned, a new Ministry being formed on 20 September 1869, with the Hon

John Alexander MacPherson John Alexander MacPherson (15 October 1833 – 17 February 1894), Australian colonial politician, was the 7th Premier of Victoria. MacPherson was born at his father's property of ''Springbank'' on the Limestone Plains, in New South Wales (t ...

as Chief Secretary and Byrne as Treasurer. When, however, the latter sought re-election at the hands of his constituents, he was defeated by

George Rolfe Hon. George Rolfe (1808 – 18 December 1871) M.L.C., was a merchant and politician in the Colony of Victoria (a state of Australia since 1901). Early life Rolfe was born in 1808 in Tenterden, Kent, where his father was a prosperous landholder ...

, the gentleman to whose appointment he had objected, and retired from office on 21 January 1870, being succeeded by

Graham Berry Sir Graham Berry, (28 August 1822 – 25 January 1904), Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined e ...

. Byrne did not re-entered public life unsuccessfully contesting the upper house seats of Central Province in 1878,

Melbourne Province Melbourne Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia). Melbourne Province was created in 1882 when Central Province was abolished in the redistribution of Provinces. Its area included central Melbourne, Carlto ...

in 1888, and the lower house seat of Avoca in 1880. Byrne died in

Richmond, Victoria Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a medi ...

on 24 March 1909 aged 88 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Robert 1821 births 1909 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Treasurers of Victoria Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Australian auctioneers 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople