Robert Pyers (1 August 1847 – 19 October 1915) was an Australian politician. Born in

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...

to butcher Abel Pyers and Margaret McDermott, he followed his father into butchery, becoming a carrier between

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

and Glen Innes. Around 1870 he became a timber getter around the Clarence River before finding success at the

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, part ...

and Lionsville gold fields, which allowed him to establish a store. He married Clara Taylor in 1869, with whom he had ten children. In 1873 unwise mining speculations led to his bankruptcy; he was discharged in 1875 and moved to

Tatham Tatham is an English surname, and a place name. It may refer to: People * Tatham family, the first residents of Hipping Hall *Agnes Clara Tatham (1893–1972), English artist * Alisha Tatham (born 1986), Canadian basketball player * Arthur Tatham ...

on the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The river rises at the northern end of the Richmond Range, near its junction with the McPherson Range, on the Queensla ...

in 1880, returning to timber work. From 1884 to 1894 he was an alderman at

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

; he was bankrupted again in 1887 and moved to Casino to become an auctioneer. From 1894 to 1904 he was the member for The Richmond in 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 ...

, associated with the

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

and Progressive parties. Despite his opposition to

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

he contested several federal elections as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. Pyers died at Casino in 1915.

References

1847 births 1915 deaths Protectionist Party politicians Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian gold prospectors {{Australia-politician-stub

See also

References