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Member Details

Mr Alexander Walker SCOTT (1800 - 1883)

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Date of Birth: 10/11/1800
Place of Birth: Bombay, India
Date of Death: 01/11/1883
Place of Death: Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 27 May 1862 01 May 1866 3 years 11 months 5 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 24 June 1861
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.9 16 Jan 1861 11 May 1861 3 months 26 days
Standing Orders Committee No.2 15 Jan 1861 11 May 1861 3 months 27 days
Member for Lower Hunter 15 Dec 1860 22 Jun 1861 6 months 8 days
Petition of Mr Alexander Berry Committee No.9 12 Oct 1860 09 Nov 1860 29 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.7 28 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 13 days Chairman
Library Committee No.3 27 Sep 1860 09 Nov 1860 1 month 14 days
Governor General’s Opening Speech Committee No.1 25 Sep 1860 25 Sep 1860 1 day
Dean of St Andrew’s Sydney Committee No.36 17 Feb 1860 04 Jul 1860 4 months 18 days
Petition of Alexander Berry, Esquire, Committee No.30 03 Feb 1860 04 Jul 1860 5 months 2 days
Railway Management Committee No.28 13 Dec 1859 04 Jul 1860 6 months 22 days
Seat claimed by James Hoskins, Esquire, Committee No.23 13 Oct 1859 04 Jul 1860 8 months 22 days
Alluvial Lands of the Hunter Committee No.10 16 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 19 days Chairman
Dismissal of Mr .F Gorton Committee No.9 14 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 21 days
Port of Newcastle Committee No.29 14 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 9 months 21 days Chairman
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.4 02 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 10 months 3 days Chairman
Library Committee No.3 01 Sep 1859 04 Jul 1860 10 months 4 days
Member for Northumberland 17 Jun 1859 10 Nov 1860 1 year 4 months 25 days
Railway to Morpeth Committee No.7 21 Dec 1858 09 Apr 1859 3 months 20 days
Extension of Railway to Windsor Committee No.6 17 Dec 1858 09 Apr 1859 3 months 24 days
Library Committee No.3 10 Dec 1858 09 Apr 1859 4 months
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.4 09 Dec 1858 09 Apr 1859 4 months 1 day
Railway to Morpeth Committee No.31 31 Aug 1858 26 Nov 1858 2 months 27 days
Extension of Railway to Windsor Committee No.30 23 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 4 days
Railway Accident Committee No.28 14 Jul 1858 26 Nov 1858 4 months 13 days
Pyrmont Bridge Company’s Bill Committee No.19 18 May 1858 26 Nov 1858 6 months 9 days
Management of the Survey Department Committee No.15 30 Apr 1858 26 Nov 1858 6 months 28 days
Alluvial Lands of the Hunter Committee No.10 16 Apr 1858 26 Nov 1858 7 months 11 days Chairman - 2nd June 1858
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.7 26 Mar 1858 26 Nov 1858 8 months 1 day By Speaker's Warrant, Chairman
Library Committee No.3 25 Mar 1858 26 Nov 1858 8 months 2 days
Member for Northumberland and Hunter 30 Jan 1858 11 Apr 1859 1 year 2 months 13 days
Alluvial Lands of the Hunter Committee No.13 30 Oct 1857 18 Dec 1857 1 month 19 days
Burwood Tramroad Continuation Act Amendment Bill Committee No.14 30 Oct 1857 18 Dec 1857 1 month 19 days
Late Shipwrecks, Port Jackson Committee No.11 30 Oct 1857 18 Dec 1857 1 month 19 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee 19 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 4 months By Speaker's Warrant
Audit of the Accounts of the Revenues Committee 12 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 4 months 7 days
Library Committee 12 Aug 1857 18 Dec 1857 4 months 7 days
Alluvial Lands of the Hunter Committee No.27 20 Feb 1857 18 Mar 1857 27 days
Liverpool and London Fire and Life Assurance Company’s Bill Committee No.21 18 Nov 1856 18 Mar 1857 4 months 1 day
Deepening the River Hunter Committee No.16 04 Nov 1856 18 Mar 1857 4 months 15 days
City Commissioners’ Department Committee No.7 12 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months 7 days
Audit of the Revenue Accounts Committee No.6 06 Aug 1856 18 Mar 1857 7 months 13 days
Library Committee No.4 03 Jun 1856 18 Mar 1857 9 months 16 days
Appointed by Speaker’s Warrant 28 May 1856 18 Mar 1857 9 months 19 days
Member for Northumberland and Hunter 17 Apr 1856 19 Dec 1857 1 year 8 months 3 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 17 Apr 1856 22 Jun 1861 5 years 2 months 6 days
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Commissioned as a Justice of the Peace
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Country entrepreneur. Educated at Bath Grammar School and Peterhouse, Cambridge (BA 1822, MA 1825). Entered Lincolns Inn, discarded legal career for mercantile speculation. Arrived in Newcastle in his ship Australia in 1827 making financially disastrous voyages to colony in 1829 and 1831. Took up a 2,560 acre grant on Ash Island in the Hunter River in 1829. Settled in Hunter River district in 1831, buying land between Newcastle and Maitland. Grew tobacco, flax and oranges. Established salt works and iron foundry at Stockton in 1835. Partner in steamship plying between Sydney and Newcastle. Advocated railway construction and in 1853 became a shareholder in the Hunter River Railway Company taken over by the government in 1855. Land Titles Commissioner in 1866. Bankrupt in 1866. Founding member of Entomological Society of New South Wales in 1862, became councillor in 1863, president in 1866 and from 1868; became a Member of Royal Society of New South Wales in 1876; Trustee of Australian Museum from 1862 until 1879. Founding Treasurer of Newcastle Mechanics Institute in 1835. Founder of Newcastle Corps of Volunteer Rifles. Trustee of Christ Church. Published many papers on entomology.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Warden of the first Newcastle district council in 1843.
Personal
Second son of Dr Helenus Scott, medical practitioner and botanist, and his wife Augusta Maria Frederick. Married Harriet Calcott on 29 December 1846 and had issue, 2 daughters, Harriet (1830 - 1907) and Helena (1832 - 1910) who both became professional artists and lithographers, natural history collectors and illustrators; their sketchbooks are in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. His sister, Augusta Maria, married Dr James Mitchell; thus David Scott Mitchell was a cousin. Rose Scott, the feminist, was also a cousin. Church of England.
Additional Information
Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: Scott family - papers, ca. 1790 - 1924, together with papers of the Rusden family, 1834 - 1898 (A2260 - A2284); photographs in the PICMAN Database.

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.