Robert Turnbull (c.1819 – 21 November 1872) was a merchant and 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 a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

Life and career

Turnbull was born in East Lothian, Scotland, and moved to the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

in 1840 via

Van Diemens Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

having arrived there in 1839 in the ship ''Charlotte''. 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 ...

he became a partner in Turnbull, Orr & Co importing manufactured goods. He later formed R. & P. Turnbull in Market St, Melbourne. Port Albert office

He lived in

Port Albert Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, south-east of Morwell, south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the , Port Albert had a population of 293. L ...

in the 1840s managing the interests of his firm in

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

where the partnership had a dozen pastoral properties between 1838 and 1857. His five brothers were part owners of some of these properties. He retained his business connections with Melbourne and in 1851 he was elected to the inaugural

Melbourne Chamber of Commerce The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the largest and most influential not-for-profit business organisation in Victoria, informing and supporting 47,000 members and clients across the state. Founded in 1851 with headquarters in Melb ...

. He was a member of the

Melbourne Club The Melbourne Club is a private social club established in 1838 and located at 36 Collins Street, Melbourne. The club is a symbol of Australia's British social heritage and was established at a gathering of 23 gentlemen on Saturday, 17 Decembe ...

and the Union Club. His wife was Marion Paterson and they had seven children.

Politics

In September 1851 Turnbull was elected unopposed as member for

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Aust ...

in the first (unicameral) Victorian Legislative Council. He was sworn-in November 1851 and held the seat until resigning in May 1853. Turnbull was again elected to the Victorian Legislative Council as member for Eastern Province in a by-election in January 1864, a seat he held until his death in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...

. He was 53 years of age and was survived by his wife and five of their children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Robert 1819 births 1872 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Scottish emigrants to Australia People from East Lothian 19th-century Australian politicians