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John O'Shanassy

Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG (18 February 1818 – 5 May 1883), was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Port Phillip District (later Victoria) in 1839. He went into business in Melbourne as a draper, and by 1846 he was rich enough to be elected to the Melbourne City Council and to become the founding chairman of the Colonial Bank of Australasia. By the 1850s he was a major landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the colony. He also became a recognised leader of the large Irish Catholic community.

Sir John O'Shanassy
2nd Premier of Victoria
In office
11 March 1857 – 29 April 1857
Preceded byWilliam Clark Haines
Succeeded byWilliam Clark Haines
In office
10 March 1858 – 27 October 1859
Preceded byWilliam Clark Haines
Succeeded byWilliam Nicholson
In office
14 November 1861 – 27 June 1863
Preceded byRichard Heales
Succeeded byJames McCulloch
Personal details
Born(1818-02-18)18 February 1818
Ballinahow, Tipperary, Ireland
Died5 May 1883(1883-05-05) (aged 65)
Boroondara, Victoria, Australia
NationalityBritish
SpouseMargaret McDonnell
RelationsMary Marlowe, granddaughter

Biography

O'Shanassy was elected to the inaugural Victorian Legislative Council for City of Melbourne in 1851. When Victoria gained responsible government in 1856, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for both Melbourne and Kilmore districts, he decided to represent the latter resulting in a by-election for Melbourne.[1] In 1868 he returned to the Council as member for Central Province, then in 1877 he went back to the Assembly as member for Belfast (later known as Port Fairy), which he represented until 1883.

Although he had been regarded as a liberal in his early career, in the colonial Parliament O'Shanassy emerged as the leader of the conservative opposition to the reforming ministry of William Haines, although there was no formal party system in Victoria at this time. His alienation from the liberals was mainly as a result of the tariff issue: most colonial liberals were protectionists, but O'Shanassy was a free trader.

When Haines's ministry fell in March 1857, O'Shanassy succeeded him as Premier, but his government fell in April and Haines returned to office. O'Shanassy was Premier again from March 1858 to October 1859 and his deputy was Charles Gavan Duffy. The combination of these two Irish Catholics heading up the colony's administration was a source of great consternation among the Protestant elite and ensured that sectarian issues emerged in the election of 1859.(G. Serle) However, the Duffy/O'Shanassy link strained, possibly, because O'Shanassy departed Ireland before the turmoil of 1848, while Duffy was involved in the 1848s troubles.(O'Brien) O'Shanassy was Premier again from November 1861. By the 1860s O'Shanassy had become a thorough-going conservative and his government was bitterly opposed by the liberal newspaper The Age and its fiery proprietor, David Syme. In retaliation, O'Shanassy withdrew government advertising from the paper. O'Shanassy's government was finally defeated in June 1863 over the land reform issue, and he never held office again.

O'Shanassy was awarded a papal knighthood in 1859, but news of that award did not reach Victoria until early 1860. The award was pilloried in the Melbourne Punch (19 January 1860, p. 209). Further, he received CMG in 1869 and a KCMG in 1874. He retired from Parliament in February 1883, shortly before his death in Boroondara, Victoria, Australia.

References

  1. ^ "Political Condition. The New Parliament". The Argus. Trove. 29 October 1856. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  • Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900-84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
  • Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
  • Elizabeth Malcolm & Dianne Hall, A New History of the Irish in Australia, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2018.
  • Antony O'Brien, Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields: the 1859 election, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2005.
  • Geoffery Serle,The Golden Age: A History of Colonial Victoria, 1851-1861, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1963. (plus numerous reprints)
  • Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856-1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
  • Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856-1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992
  • Serle, Percival (1949). "O'Shanassay, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
Victorian Legislative Council
New seat Member for City of Melbourne
September 1851 – March 1856
With: William Westgarth 1851–53
John Smith 1853–56
James Johnston 1851–52
Augustus Greeves 1853–56
John Hodgson 1853–56
Henry Langlands 1853,
Frederick Sargood 1853–56
James Murphy 1853–55,
Thomas Rae 1855–56
Original
Council
abolished
Victorian Legislative Assembly
New district Member for Kilmore
November 1856 – December 1865
Succeeded by
Victorian Legislative Council
Preceded by Member for Central Province
March 1868 – April 1874
With: James Graham 1868–74
John Fawkner 1868–69
Henry Walsh 1869–71
Archibald Michie 1871–73
Theodotus Sumner 1873–74
George Cole 1868–74
Thomas T. à Beckett 1868–74
Succeeded by
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Belfast
May 1877 – February 1883
Succeeded by
John Madden
Political offices
Preceded by
William Haines
(First Term)
Premier of Victoria
March – April 1857
(First Term)
Succeeded by
William Haines
(Second Term)
Preceded by
William Haines
(Second Term)
Premier of Victoria
1858–1859
(Second Term)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier of Victoria
1861–1863
(Third Term)
Succeeded by

john, shanassy, kcmg, february, 1818, 1883, irish, australian, politician, served, premier, victoria, shanassy, born, near, thurles, county, tipperary, ireland, surveyor, came, port, phillip, district, later, victoria, 1839, went, into, business, melbourne, dr. Sir John O Shanassy KCMG 18 February 1818 5 May 1883 was an Irish Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria O Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary Ireland the son of a surveyor and came to the Port Phillip District later Victoria in 1839 He went into business in Melbourne as a draper and by 1846 he was rich enough to be elected to the Melbourne City Council and to become the founding chairman of the Colonial Bank of Australasia By the 1850s he was a major landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the colony He also became a recognised leader of the large Irish Catholic community Sir John O Shanassy2nd Premier of VictoriaIn office 11 March 1857 29 April 1857Preceded byWilliam Clark HainesSucceeded byWilliam Clark HainesIn office 10 March 1858 27 October 1859Preceded byWilliam Clark HainesSucceeded byWilliam NicholsonIn office 14 November 1861 27 June 1863Preceded byRichard HealesSucceeded byJames McCullochPersonal detailsBorn 1818 02 18 18 February 1818Ballinahow Tipperary IrelandDied5 May 1883 1883 05 05 aged 65 Boroondara Victoria AustraliaNationalityBritishSpouseMargaret McDonnellRelationsMary Marlowe granddaughterBiography EditO Shanassy was elected to the inaugural Victorian Legislative Council for City of Melbourne in 1851 When Victoria gained responsible government in 1856 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for both Melbourne and Kilmore districts he decided to represent the latter resulting in a by election for Melbourne 1 In 1868 he returned to the Council as member for Central Province then in 1877 he went back to the Assembly as member for Belfast later known as Port Fairy which he represented until 1883 Although he had been regarded as a liberal in his early career in the colonial Parliament O Shanassy emerged as the leader of the conservative opposition to the reforming ministry of William Haines although there was no formal party system in Victoria at this time His alienation from the liberals was mainly as a result of the tariff issue most colonial liberals were protectionists but O Shanassy was a free trader When Haines s ministry fell in March 1857 O Shanassy succeeded him as Premier but his government fell in April and Haines returned to office O Shanassy was Premier again from March 1858 to October 1859 and his deputy was Charles Gavan Duffy The combination of these two Irish Catholics heading up the colony s administration was a source of great consternation among the Protestant elite and ensured that sectarian issues emerged in the election of 1859 G Serle However the Duffy O Shanassy link strained possibly because O Shanassy departed Ireland before the turmoil of 1848 while Duffy was involved in the 1848s troubles O Brien O Shanassy was Premier again from November 1861 By the 1860s O Shanassy had become a thorough going conservative and his government was bitterly opposed by the liberal newspaper The Age and its fiery proprietor David Syme In retaliation O Shanassy withdrew government advertising from the paper O Shanassy s government was finally defeated in June 1863 over the land reform issue and he never held office again O Shanassy was awarded a papal knighthood in 1859 but news of that award did not reach Victoria until early 1860 The award was pilloried in the Melbourne Punch 19 January 1860 p 209 Further he received CMG in 1869 and a KCMG in 1874 He retired from Parliament in February 1883 shortly before his death in Boroondara Victoria Australia References Edit Political Condition The New Parliament The Argus Trove 29 October 1856 Retrieved 19 April 2013 Geoff Browne A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament 1900 84 Government Printer Melbourne 1985 Don Garden Victoria A History Thomas Nelson Melbourne 1984 Elizabeth Malcolm amp Dianne Hall A New History of the Irish in Australia University of New South Wales Press Sydney 2018 Antony O Brien Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields the 1859 election Artillery Publishing Hartwell 2005 Geoffery Serle The Golden Age A History of Colonial Victoria 1851 1861 Melbourne University Press Carlton 1963 plus numerous reprints Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament 1856 1900 Australian National University Press Canberra 1972 Raymond Wright A People s Counsel A History of the Parliament of Victoria 1856 1990 Oxford University Press Melbourne 1992 Serle Percival 1949 O Shanassay John Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus amp Robertson Victorian Legislative CouncilNew seat Member for City of MelbourneSeptember 1851 March 1856 With William Westgarth 1851 53John Smith 1853 56James Johnston 1851 52Augustus Greeves 1853 56John Hodgson 1853 56Henry Langlands 1853 Frederick Sargood 1853 56James Murphy 1853 55 Thomas Rae 1855 56 OriginalCouncilabolishedVictorian Legislative AssemblyNew district Member for KilmoreNovember 1856 December 1865 Succeeded byRichard Davies IrelandVictorian Legislative CouncilPreceded byThomas Fellows Member for Central ProvinceMarch 1868 April 1874 With James Graham 1868 74John Fawkner 1868 69Henry Walsh 1869 71Archibald Michie 1871 73Theodotus Sumner 1873 74George Cole 1868 74Thomas T a Beckett 1868 74 Succeeded byFrederick T SargoodVictorian Legislative AssemblyPreceded byHenry Wrixon Member for BelfastMay 1877 February 1883 Succeeded byJohn MaddenPolitical officesPreceded byWilliam Haines First Term Premier of VictoriaMarch April 1857 First Term Succeeded byWilliam Haines Second Term Preceded byWilliam Haines Second Term Premier of Victoria1858 1859 Second Term Succeeded byWilliam NicholsonPreceded byRichard Heales Premier of Victoria1861 1863 Third Term Succeeded byJames McCulloch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John O 27Shanassy amp oldid 1146344672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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