Francis Clarke

Francis Clarke
Francis Clarke
Member of the Australian Parliament; for Cowper
	In office; 29 March 1901 – 16 December 1903
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Henry Lee
Personal details
Born	25 March 1857; Stroud, Colony of New South Wales
Died	18 May 1939 (aged 82); Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Protectionist Party
Occupation	Surveyor

Francis Clarke (25 March 1857 – 18 May 1939) was an Australian politician.

Early life

Clarke was born in Stroud, New South Wales, the son of Thomas Clarke and Ellen Walsh. He attended St Stanislaus' College at Bathurst before becoming a surveyor.

Political career

He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1893 to 1898, representing the seats of Macleay and Hastings and Macleay.[1] Clarke played a role in expediting the re-inclusion of Edmund Barton in the Australasian Federal Convention for the establishment of the Australian Federation. Barton was a major driver in the Federation movement but as he lost his seat in the NSW Colonial parliament he faced exclusion from the discussions. To expedite his return to the political process Clarke resigned from his safe seat of Hastings and the Macleay triggering a by-election which Barton won with Clarke's endorsement.

Serving as an early alderman of the Borough of North Sydney, Clarke served a single term as mayor (1898–1899).[2] He was later appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1899–1900, representing the Protectionist Party.[1]

In 1901, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Protectionist member for Cowper. He held the seat until his defeat in 1903 by Henry Lee of the Free Trade Party.[3]

Later life

After leaving politics he was drafted as a member of the Royal Commission on Customs and Tariffs 1904-07 and the Royal Commission on Northern Territory railways and ports (1913–1914). He died in Manly in 1939.[1]

References

"Mr Francis Clarke (1857-1939)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
"BOROUGH OF NORTH SYDNEY". New South Wales Government Gazette (136). New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1898. p. 1220. Retrieved 8 April 2017 – via Trove.
Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 20 July 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2008.

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Otho Dangar	Member for Macleay 1893 – 1894 Served alongside: Hogan	District abolished
New district	Member for Hastings and Macleay 1894 – 1898	Succeeded by Edmund Barton
Preceded by Edmund Barton	Member for Hastings and Macleay 1900 – 1901	Succeeded by Robert Davidson
Civic offices
Preceded by John Mitchell Purves	Mayor of North Sydney 1898 – 1899	Succeeded by John Mitchell Purves
Parliament of Australia
New division	Member for Cowper 1901 – 1903	Succeeded by Henry Lee

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[nsw-1] "Mr Francis Clarke (1857-1939)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

[2] "BOROUGH OF NORTH SYDNEY". New South Wales Government Gazette (136). New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1898. p. 1220. Retrieved 8 April 2017 – via Trove.

[Psephos-3] Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 20 July 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2008.