Date of Birth: 01/01/1804
Place of Birth: England
Date of Death: 09/08/1883
Place of Death: Denman, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
| Member of the NSW Legislative Council |
28 Oct 1879 |
09 Aug 1883 |
3 years 9 months 13 days |
Life Appointments under the Constitution Act: Date of Writ of Summons 7 October 1879. |
| Loder’s Estate Bill Committee No.9 |
08 Dec 1871 |
01 Feb 1872 |
1 month 25 days |
|
| Refreshment Room Committee No.4 |
15 Nov 1871 |
01 Feb 1872 |
2 months 18 days |
|
| Claims of Mr Spencer, of Gundagai Committee No.13 |
09 Dec 1870 |
22 Jun 1871 |
6 months 14 days |
|
| Petition of John Fuller Foster Committee No.12 |
04 Nov 1870 |
07 Dec 1870 |
1 month 4 days |
|
| Petition of Hugh Maguire Committee No.6 |
18 Aug 1870 |
07 Oct 1870 |
1 month 20 days |
|
| Refreshment Room Committee No.4 |
12 Aug 1870 |
22 Jun 1871 |
10 months 11 days |
|
| Mr Richard Henry Wright Committee No.25 |
27 Apr 1870 |
07 May 1870 |
11 days |
|
| Alleged Losses in consequence of insecurity of Post Office at Sofala Committee No.20 |
25 Mar 1870 |
07 May 1870 |
1 month 13 days |
|
| Member for Upper Hunter |
16 Dec 1869 |
03 Feb 1872 |
2 years 1 month 19 days |
|
| Mr William Emery Committee No.19 |
02 Mar 1869 |
01 Apr 1869 |
1 month |
|
| Rev. Denis McGuinn, late R.C.C at Carcour Committee No.13 |
09 Feb 1869 |
11 Mar 1869 |
1 month 3 days |
|
| Mrs Mary Singleton Committee No.11 |
19 Jan 1869 |
23 Feb 1869 |
1 month 5 days |
|
| Member for Upper Hunter |
07 Jun 1868 |
15 Nov 1869 |
1 year 5 months 9 days |
|
| Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly |
07 Jun 1868 |
03 Feb 1872 |
3 years 7 months 28 days |
|
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Pastoralist. Bell Jr discovered the route across the Blue Mountains from Richmond to Mount Tomah known as the Bell's Line of Road in 1823. He also explored the Hunter River and saved the explorers Howe and Singleton from starvation. As a reward, he was given a grant of 1,000 acres at Patrick's Plains, naming his estate 'Corinda'. He specialized in breeding horses for coaching and hackney horses. He was granted 1000 acres on the Hunter River near Belford in 1839. He had other estates in the Hunter Valley and moved from Corinda to Mulgarra in 1849. In 1859 he bought Pickering, an 8000 acre freehold estate on the Hunter River. He lived there until his death. In 1831 Bell Jr and his father protested against quit-rents on Crown grants and in 1842 he belonged to an association seeking to import Indian coolies.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son (one of ten children) of Archibald Bell senior and his wife Maria Kitching. He and his family arrived in New South Wales in 1807, his father being an officer of the New South Wales Corps. Bell senior later became chief police magistrate at Windsor, a landowner and a member of the first Legislative Council 1832 - 1837. Married Francis Ann, (c.1833) daughter of Samuel North a police magistrate at Windsor.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1
