Francis Clarke (politician)

The Honourable Francis Clarke (politician)
File:Francis Clarke.jpg
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	(1857-03-25)25 March 1857 Stroud, Colony of New South Wales
Died	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, winning the seat of Macleay as the Protectionist Party candidate at the 1893 by-election, but it was abolished the following year and replaced by Hastings and Macleay which he won, holding it in 1895 and 1898. 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). He was later appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1899–1900, representing the Protectionist Party.

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.

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). On 21 December 1933 he was granted permission to retain the title "The Honourable" because he had been a member of the first federal parliament.

He died in Manly on .

References

 

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 Purves	Mayor of North Sydney 1898 – 1899	Succeeded by John Purves
Parliament of Australia
New parliament	Member for Cowper 1901 – 1903	Succeeded by Henry Lee