John Watt (politician)

John Brown Watt
MLC
Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales
In office
11 September 1861 (1861-09-11) – 20 April 1867 (1867-04-20)
In office
11 September 1874 (1874-09-11) – 22 March 1890 (1890-03-22)
Personal details
Born (1826-05-26)26 May 1826
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died 28 September 1897(1897-09-28) (aged 71)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Citizenship  Australia
Children
Mother Elizabeth née Jesson
Father Alexander Hamilton Watt
Relatives Street family
Alma mater University of Edinburgh

John Brown Watt, MLC (16 May 1826 – 28 September 1897) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman. Watt was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1861 and 1866, before leaving to become a board member of the Imperial Federation League in the United Kingdom. He was re-elected to the Legislative Council in 1874 and served thereafter until 1890.[1]

Outside of politics, he was very much invested in public health. Among other public health ventures, he was a founder of the Hospital for Sick Children, Glebe (now the Royal Alexandria Hospital for Children); director of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary between 1869 and 1873; and director of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.[2]

Early life

Watt was born in Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland, the eldest son of Alexander Hamilton Watt and his wife Margaret, née Gilchrist.[1] His father was related to James Watt, inventor of the steam-engine and namesake of the Watt energy metric.[3] Watt was educated at the University of Edinburgh, matriculating in 1840; he emigrated to Sydney via the Benares on 6 December 1842.[1]

Political career

Watt was appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in September 1861,[4] but resigned on leaving for England in March 1866.[5] He was reappointed in October 1874. In 1877 he presented the sum of £1000 to the University of Sydney to found an exhibition for students from primary schools. He presided over the Royal Commission on Military Defences of 1881.

Later, he was a Commissioner for New South Wales at the International Exhibitions of Philadelphia (1876), Paris (1878), Sydney (1879), Amsterdam (1883) and at Calcutta (1883–84). In 1884, Watt was invited to the United Kingdom to serve on the Executive Committee of the Imperial Federation League.[6] In April 1890 his seat in the Legislative Council became vacant owing to prolonged absence in England.[5]

Further details

Watt died in Bournemouth, Dorset on 28 September 1897.[1] He was survived by three of his five sons and five daughters, the youngest son was Oswald Watt, a celebrated aviator. Another son, Ernest Watt, became the father-in-law of Sir Laurence Whistler Street when he married Ernest's daughter Susan Gai Watt, herself the first female chair of the Eastern Sydney Health Service (now amalgamated with Illawarra).[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Walsh, G. P. "Watt, John Brown (1826–1897)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  2. ↑ E. A. S. Watt, A Few Records of the Life of John Brown Watt (Syd, priv print, nd)
  3. ↑ Carnegie, Andrew. James Watt. The Minerva Group, Inc. p. 215. ISBN 9780898755787.
  4. ↑ "Mr John Brown WATT (1826 - 1897)". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  5. 1 2 Mennell, Philip (1892). "Wikisource link to Watt, John Brown". The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co. Wikisource
  6. ↑ E. Digby, Australian Men of Mark, vol 1 (Syd, 1889)
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