Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first to Mexico (1831-1834), for business training. After returning to England in May 1834, Donaldson travelled to Sydney, New South Wales, aboard the Emma Eugenia where he arrived on 5 May 1835.[1] He returned to London between 1841 and 1844.
Careeredit
In 1848, Donaldson was elected a member of the original unicameral Legislative Council of New South Wales, representing the County of Durham from February 1848 to January 1853.[2] Comments made while running for re-election in 1851, led Sir Thomas Mitchell to demand a public apology. While Donaldson complied Mitchell was not satisfied and challenged Donaldson to a duel with pistols. Both men missed but they remained antagonised.[1] He supported the development of steam ship services to Australia and the work of Caroline Chisholm. In 1852 he achieved the carriage of a motion recommending that £10,000 should be applied to supporting Chisholm's work.[3] He travelled to England in 1853–1854.
From 1 February 1855 to 29 February 1856, Donaldson represented Sydney Hamlets in the council.[2] In March 1856, Donaldson was elected to the newly created Legislative Assembly of the first Parliament, representing Sydney Hamlets. The first Legislative Assembly had trouble forming a Government. Eventually Governor Denison invited Donaldson to be Premier and he took up the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary on 6 June 1856. Two months and 20 days later, on 25 August 1856, his Government lost a vote and he resigned. He was criticised for standing down so readily but he said, "my colleagues and myself are all too independent of office to cling to it",[1] a somewhat prophetic remark.
Donaldson was succeeded as Premier by Charles Cowper and Donaldson served as Colonial Treasurer (1856-1857) and was a Commissioner for Railways in 1857.[2] He was elected unopposed to Cumberland (South Riding) in October 1856, representing it to 1859.[1] He was a member of the Senate of the University of Sydney from 1851 to 1861 and his brother John helped to select its academic staff.[1]
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This article is about the 19th century Premier of New South Wales For the present day Scottish MP see Stuart Donaldson Scottish politician Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson 16 December 1812 11 January 1867 was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales The Honourable SirStuart Donaldson1st Premier of New South WalesIn office 6 June 1856 25 August 1856MonarchVictoriaGovernorSir William DenisonPreceded byOffice establishedSucceeded byCharles Cowper5th Colonial Treasurer of New South WalesIn office 3 October 1856 7 September 1857Preceded byRobert CampbellSucceeded byRichard JonesPersonal detailsBornStuart Alexander Donaldson 1812 12 16 16 December 1812London England UKDied11 January 1867 1867 01 11 aged 54 Carleton Hall Cumberland England UKSpouseAmelia Cowper 1854 1867 ChildrenHay Frederick DonaldsonSt Clair DonaldsonProfessionBusiness agent for Richard Jones amp Co Company manager for Lloyd s of London sheep and cattle grazier Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Late life 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life editDonaldson was born in London England He entered his father s firm at the age of 15 and was sent first to Mexico 1831 1834 for business training After returning to England in May 1834 Donaldson travelled to Sydney New South Wales aboard the Emma Eugenia where he arrived on 5 May 1835 1 He returned to London between 1841 and 1844 Career editIn 1848 Donaldson was elected a member of the original unicameral Legislative Council of New South Wales representing the County of Durham from February 1848 to January 1853 2 Comments made while running for re election in 1851 led Sir Thomas Mitchell to demand a public apology While Donaldson complied Mitchell was not satisfied and challenged Donaldson to a duel with pistols Both men missed but they remained antagonised 1 He supported the development of steam ship services to Australia and the work of Caroline Chisholm In 1852 he achieved the carriage of a motion recommending that 10 000 should be applied to supporting Chisholm s work 3 He travelled to England in 1853 1854 From 1 February 1855 to 29 February 1856 Donaldson represented Sydney Hamlets in the council 2 In March 1856 Donaldson was elected to the newly created Legislative Assembly of the first Parliament representing Sydney Hamlets The first Legislative Assembly had trouble forming a Government Eventually Governor Denison invited Donaldson to be Premier and he took up the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary on 6 June 1856 Two months and 20 days later on 25 August 1856 his Government lost a vote and he resigned He was criticised for standing down so readily but he said my colleagues and myself are all too independent of office to cling to it 1 a somewhat prophetic remark Donaldson was succeeded as Premier by Charles Cowper and Donaldson served as Colonial Treasurer 1856 1857 and was a Commissioner for Railways in 1857 2 He was elected unopposed to Cumberland South Riding in October 1856 representing it to 1859 1 He was a member of the Senate of the University of Sydney from 1851 to 1861 and his brother John helped to select its academic staff 1 Late life editDonaldson returned to England for the last time in June 1859 and was knighted there in 1860 2 Following his return he unsuccessfully sought election to the British House of Commons for Dartmouth in 1860 and later for Barnstaple 1 He had four sons and one daughter The eldest son Stuart Alexander Donaldson a distinguished scholar became Master of Magdalene College Cambridge Vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1912 and died in 1915 another son was St Clair Donaldson archbishop of Brisbane A third son Sir Hay Frederick Donaldson who became an eminent engineer went with Lord Kitchener on a special mission to Russia in 1916 and died when their ship HMS Hampshire struck a German mine off the Orkney Islands Stuart Donaldson died at Carleton Hall near Penrith in Cumberland England on 11 January 1867 See also editTenterfield New South Wales Donaldson ministryReferences edit a b c d e f Draper Sandra Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander 1812 1867 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 11 September 2014 a b c d Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson 1812 1867 Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales Retrieved 20 April 2019 Serle Percival 1949 Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander 1812 1867 Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus amp Robertson Retrieved 11 September 2014 Political offices New office Premier of New South Wales6 June 25 August 1856 Succeeded byCharles Cowper Preceded byEdward Deas Thomson Colonial Secretary6 June 25 August 1856 Preceded byRobert Campbell Colonial Treasurer3 October 1856 7 September 1857 Succeeded byRichard Jones New South Wales Legislative Council Preceded byRichard Windeyer Member for County of DurhamFeb 1848 Jan 1853 With none Charles Cowper Succeeded byAlexander Park Preceded byThomas Smart Member for Sydney HamletsFeb 1855 Feb 1856 Council replaced with new parliament New South Wales Legislative Assembly New assembly Member for Sydney HamletsMar Oct 1856 With Daniel Cooper Succeeded byJohn Campbell Preceded byRyan Brenan Member for Cumberland South Riding Oct 1856 1859 District abolished Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stuart Donaldson amp oldid 1146978636, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
