John Gray (c. 1853 – 7 January 1925) was an Australian politician. Born at Castlemaine to James and Anna Gray, he attended Dame School, Swan Hill State School and Brighton Grammar School before working near

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

on farming stations. He was a mail contractor from Swan Hill to Euston in 1881 but established a stock agency in Swan Hill after eighteen months. In 1882 he married Annie Tuck, with whom he had five children. In 1891, having inherited his father's punting service across the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

, he erected a pontoon bridge. He was a Swan Hill Shire Councillor from 1885 to 1888 and from 1889 to 1893, serving as president from 1892 to 1893; he was then a Castle Donnington Shire Councillor (renamed Swan Hill in 1904) from 1893 to 1907, serving as president for three terms (1893–95, 1896–97, 1903–04). In 1904 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

as the member for

, serving until 1917; he was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

and then a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

. He was a minister without portfolio from 1913 to 1917. Gray died in Swan Hill in 1925.

References

1850s births 1925 deaths Commonwealth Liberal Party politicians Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria People from the Colony of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Victoria (state) local councillors {{Australia-Nationalist-politician-stub