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Member Details

Mr David BUCHANAN (1823 - 1890)

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Date of Birth: 01/01/1823
Place of Birth: Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of Death: 04/04/1890
Place of Death: Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 27 Feb 1889 04 Apr 1890 1 year 1 month 9 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act: Date of Writ of Summons 22 February 1889.
Member for Central Cumberland 15 May 1888 19 Jan 1889 8 months 5 days
Member for Mudgee 11 Dec 1882 07 Oct 1885 2 years 9 months 27 days
Cudgegong Town Hall Bill Committee No.25 28 Oct 1881 23 Nov 1881 27 days
Member for Mudgee 01 Dec 1880 23 Nov 1882 1 year 11 months 24 days
Member for Mudgee 06 Jan 1879 09 Nov 1880 1 year 10 months 4 days
The Case of Amelia Gould Committee No.10 14 Dec 1875 29 Feb 1876 2 months 16 days Chairman
Letter addressed to M.M Rochefort and Grousset Committee No.12 04 May 1875 01 Jun 1875 29 days Chairman
Member for Goldfields West 11 Jan 1875 12 Oct 1877 2 years 9 months 2 days
Letter addressed to M.M Rochefort and Grousset Committee No.5 05 Nov 1874 26 Nov 1874 22 days Chairman
Claim of Mr Stephen Scholey Committee No.20 04 Feb 1873 21 Apr 1873 2 months 18 days
St Andrew’s College Committee No.13 02 Jul 1872 13 Aug 1872 1 month 12 days
Member for Goldfields West 25 Mar 1872 28 Nov 1874 2 years 8 months 4 days
Mrs Mary Fogg Committee No.18 22 Mar 1870 29 Apr 1870 1 month 8 days
Public Vehicles and Boats Committee No.6 08 Feb 1870 29 Apr 1870 2 months 22 days
Member for East Sydney 03 Dec 1869 03 Feb 1872 2 years 2 months 1 day
Pitt-street Tramway Committee No.12 28 Nov 1865 27 Mar 1866 4 months
Clarence and New England Steam Navigation Company’s Bill Committee No.9 14 Nov 1865 12 Dec 1865 29 days
Elizabeth Castle Committee No.16 16 May 1865 07 Jun 1865 23 days
Fisheries Bill Committee No.9 24 Mar 1865 03 May 1865 1 month 10 days
Member for East Macquarie 24 Dec 1864 01 Aug 1867 2 years 7 months 9 days
Member for East Macquarie 06 Oct 1864 10 Nov 1864 1 month 5 days
Reservations upon Runs in Tumut District Committee No.25 29 Sep 1863 11 Mar 1864 5 months 12 days
Working of the Gold Fields Act Committee No.26 29 Sep 1863 09 Mar 1864 5 months 10 days Chairman
Death of John Hart in Benevolent Asylum at Liverpool Committee No.22 15 Sep 1863 02 Mar 1864 5 months 17 days
Bulli Coal Mining Company’s Railway Bill Committee No.23 05 Aug 1862 26 Aug 1862 22 days
Bellambi and Bulli Coal Mining Company’s Incorporation Bill Committee No.23 03 Jan 1862 07 Jan 1862 5 days
Maitland and Morpeth Railway Company’s Bill Committee No.12 09 Oct 1861 20 Jan 1862 3 months 12 days
Maitland and Morpeth Railway Company’s Bill Committee No.12 03 Oct 1861 20 Jan 1862 3 months 18 days
Morpeth and Maitland Railway Company’s Bill Committee No.30 24 Apr 1861 11 May 1861 18 days
Member for Morpeth 14 Dec 1860 02 Sep 1862 1 year 8 months 20 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 14 Dec 1860 19 Jan 1889 28 years 1 month 6 days
Political Party Activity
He was an extreme radical in the liberal conservative debates of the early 1860's. He at first supported freetrade but by 1880, had become a protectionist. He joined the Protectionist and Politicial Reform League in 1881. In 1886, he visited England where "he took a prominent part in labour agitations".
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Lawyer (barrister) and labourer. Educated at Edinburgh High School. Involved in Chartist activities. After arriving in New South Wales, worked for squatters and others as a sheep washer, drovers cook and other manual jobs. In 1860, he was still "labouring hard all day" while involved in radical politics and writing radical literature. Elected as a working class representative to the Legislative Assembly in 1860 and for a time was paid £3 per week by his supporters. Was appointed as an overseer of Western roads and then edited the short-lived 'Nation' at Bathurst. In 1867, returned to England and studied law. Called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1869. On return to New South Wales became a successful criminal lawyer. Was a prominent divorce law reformer. Author of the following books: 'Politicial Portraits of some of the Members of Parliament of New South Wales', 1863; 'Observations on the Book of Revelation', 1874; Specimens of Australian Oratory', 1881; 'An Australian Order', 1886. Recreational interests included theatre.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of William, a lawyer (barrister), and Catherine, nee Gregory. He arrived in New South Wales on 28 December 1852. Claimed to have married Agnes Embleton (Still), nee Sproule in Sydney around 1867. Belonged for many years to an obscure sect called the Glassites. In 1862, resigned from the Legislative Assembly, after he was unable to pay the costs of a libel suit against the Sydney Morning Herald. Presbyterian.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, volume three; Members of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales 1856 - 1901.

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