Bolton Stafford Bird CMG (30 January 1840 – 15 December 1924) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n Congregationalist clergyman, farmer and politician. Bird was born in

Hazlerigg Hazlerigg (often misspelled Hazelrigg) is a village and civil parish north of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is about north of the city centre, on the A1. It is split between Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tynesi ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, the son of the local

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

. In 1852 the family emigrated to Australia and began farming at

Clunes, Victoria Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2016 census it had a population of 1,728. History Pre-colonial The Djadja Wurrung people were the first inhabitants of the region ...

. In 1865 Bird was ordained in the Wesleyan Methodist Church, but in 1867 transferred to the

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

as minister of the church at

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. In 1870 he took charge of several churches in the Avoca district. In 1874 he took over the church in Davey Street,

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, but resigned in 1877 due to ill-health and bought a farm near Geeveston in the Huon district. He grew

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

s, which he began to ship to England, thus becoming a pioneer of the Tasmanian apple export industry. In August 1891, however, the

Bank of Van Diemen's Land Founded in 1823, the Bank of Van Diemen's Land was the first financial institution to be established in Van Diemen's Land. Affectionally referred to as the old bank, the Bank of Van Diemen's Land traded for 68 years before becoming the first maj ...

, with whom Bird held a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

, collapsed and he lost the farm, moving to a much smaller property at Lunawanna on

Bruny Island Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman S ...

. In 1882, Bird was elected to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

for

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

. In 1887 he became Treasurer in

Philip Fysh Sir Philip Oakley Fysh (1 March 1835 – 20 December 1919) was an English-born Australian politician. He arrived in Tasmania in 1859 and became a leading merchant in Hobart. He served two terms as premier of Tasmania (1877–1878, 1887–1892) ...

's ministry, serving until Fysh's defeat in 1892. He then served as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

until 1894 and then Speaker of the House of Assembly until December 1896. He was Treasurer again under Sir Elliott Lewis from 1899 to 1903. From 1904 to 1909 he represented

South Hobart South Hobart is one of Hobart's inner suburbs. It is bound by Dynnyrne, Fern Tree, West Hobart and the Hobart City Centre. Landmarks South Hobart is home to many of the most beautiful homes in Hobart, including the classical Georgian residen ...

. In 1909 he was elected to the upper house, the Legislative Council, and retired in 1923. Bird was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours.

Footnotes

References

Australian Dictionary of BiographyObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Bolton Stafford 1840 births 1924 deaths People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district) English emigrants to Australia Australian Methodist ministers Australian Congregationalist ministers Methodist ministers 19th-century Congregationalist ministers 19th-century Methodist ministers Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Speakers of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania