Joseph Docker

Hon. Joseph Docker (1802 – 9 December 1884), was an Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.[1]

Joseph Docker, 1875 engraving

Docker was the second son of Robert Docker, of London, and Eliza (née Perry) his wife, was born in 1802, and became a surgeon in the service of the East India Company. He was married in April 1839 to Matilda, daughter of Major Thomas Brougham, H.E.I.C.S., of Penrith, Cumberland.[1]

Docker emigrated to New South Wales (Australia) in 1835 and established himself as a grazier in the Hunter Valley. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council (upper house) in New South Wales[1] on 20 May 1856[2] after being defeated as a candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.[1] He was a member of the Council until 10 May 1861, and again from 16 December 1863 until 11 December 1884.[2] He was Postmaster-General in the second James Martin Administration, from January 1866 to September 1868, when he became Colonial Secretary, and retired with his colleagues in the following month.[1] He was again Postmaster-General in Sir James Martin's second Ministry, from Dec. 1870 to May 1872. Whilst holding office on the first occasion he introduced and carried through the Upper House Henry Parkes's Public School Bill in 1866. He was Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in the Third Robertson Ministry, from February 1875 to March 1877; and again, under the same Premier, from August to December 1877.[3] Docker was one of the three Australian commissioners tasked by the Government of New Zealand with choosing a new capital for that country. Together with Francis Murphy (Victoria) and Ronald Campbell Gunn (Tasmania), he recommended for the capital to move from Auckland to Wellington.[4][5]

He died on 9 December 1884[1] in Sydney.[3]

References
  1. Mennell, Philip (1892). "Docker, Hon. Joseph" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  2. "Mr Joseph Docker (1802–1884)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  3. Docker, E. "Docker, Joseph (1802–1884)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 October 2012 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  4. Levine, Stephen (13 July 2012). "Capital city – A new capital". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  5. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Wellington Provincial District". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
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