Geoffrey Eagar (17 December 1818 – 12 September 1891) was an accountant and colonial politician and civil servant in New South Wales, Australia.

Early life

Eagar 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 Mounta ...

, son of Jemima McDuel and

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

, a lawyer, emancipated convict and merchant. Edward left Australia in 1821, while Geoffrey was still an infant, to take a legal battle over the rights of freed convicts to London, and did not return. His mother Jemima then married

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures of early colonial New South Wales. Throug ...

, and gave birth to a son. In 1843 he married Mary Ann Bucknell, and the couple had 4 children.

Politics

Eagar worked as an accountant at the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and N ...

from 1854 for around five years before resigning to accept an appointment 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 t ...

in September 1859. The following month he was appointed Secretary for Public Works and Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council in the Forster ministry, serving until the ministry's defeat in March 1860. He resigned from the Council in November 1860, to contest the election for The Glebe, but he finished a distant 3rd. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the by-election in January 1863 for the seat of West Sydney. He was appointed Colonial Treasurer in the first Martin ministry in October 1863. He lost his seat at the 1864 election for West Sydney, and was unsuccessful at election for the Paterson. He was returned to the Legislative Assembly at the West Sydney by-election in July 1865, and in January 1866 was appointed Colonial Treasurer in the second Martin ministry, serving until the resignation of the ministry in October 1868. Eagar lost his seat again at the 1869 election for West Sydney, and was unsuccessful at the Hastings, and Goldfields West.

Later life

After leaving parliament he was appointed head of the New South Wales Treasury from 1872, until his retirement in February 1891. Eagar died at his home in the Sydney suburb of

Glebe Point Glebe Point is a point on Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Glebe, in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. External links GlebeNet: Information for Residents and Visitors to Glebe, Sydney File:Glebe_Point.JPG, Gl ...

, survived by his wife and three of their four children, Arthur, a bank manager, Ernest a civil servant and a daughter. He also had a house in the Blue Mountains, opposite Eagar's Platform, now called Valley Heights railway station.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eagar, Geoffrey Politicians from Sydney Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Treasurers of New South Wales Australian accountants 1818 births 1891 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian public servants 19th-century Australian businesspeople