John Fitzgerald Burns

John Fitzgerald Burns (1833 – 19 March 1911)[1] was an Australian politician, member of the Parliament of New South Wales, Postmaster-General in the 1870s and Colonial Treasurer in the 1880s.

John Fitzgerald Burns, 1875 engraving

Burns was born in the north of Ireland, and emigrated to New South Wales at an early age.[2] In 1854 he married Lucy Maria Smith at Maitland.[1]

Having engaged in mercantile pursuits in the Hunter River district, Burns was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Hunter at a by-election in 1861,[3] holding the seat until his defeat in the 1869 election.[4] He was unsuccessful at the 1870 Goldfields North by-election,[5] but was elected for Hunter in the 1872 election.[6] When political parties emerged in the 1887 election, Burns stood as a Free Trade candidate,[7] and held the seat until 1889.[8]

Burns switched to St Leonards for the 1889 election when it was expanded to return 3 members, and was the third member elected.[9] He was narrowly defeated in the 1891 election.[10][1] In the 1891 election for Willoughby he stood as an independent free trade candidate, but was unsuccessful, receiving only 86 votes (4.53%).[11]

He was Postmaster-General in the Robertson ministry from February, and in the Farnell ministry from December 1877 to December 1878.[8] He introduced postal cards into Australia in 1875, and was the first to give employment to women in the telegraph department. In 1878 he arranged with the Governments of the other Australian colonies and New Zealand for the duplication of the submarine cable to Australia.[2] Burns was Treasurer in the fifth Robertson ministry from December 1885 to February 1886, and in that of Sir Henry Parkes from January 1887 to January 1889.[8] He was gazetted a CMG in 1887, but declined the honour, and the appointment was cancelled.[2]

Burns died in Paddington, New South Wales on 19 March 1911; four sons and two daughters survived him.[1] He is buried in Waverley Cemetery.[12]