Robert Fowler (13 July 1840 – 12 June 1906) was an Australian politician. He was born 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 ...

to pottery manufacturer Enoch Fowler and Jane Lucas. After attending Christ Church School, he worked in his father's pottery business, becoming a partner when his father died in 1879. On 2 October 1867 he married Jane Seale, with whom he had eight children. Closely involved in local government, he served on Cook Municipal Council (1869–70, mayor 1870), Camperdown Municipal Council (1870–71, mayor 1870–71) and Sydney City Council (1872–87, 1890–1901, mayor 1880). In 1894 he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member for Sydney-Phillip. Defeated in 1895, he was appointed to 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 ...

, where he served until his death at Camperdown in 1906.

References

1840 births 1906 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Free Trade Party politicians Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney 19th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-FreeTrade-politician-stub