John Richardson (New South Wales politician)

The Honourable John Richardson
Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales
In office 1 September 1851 – 31 March 1854
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Arthur Hodgson
In office 1 September 1855 – 29 February 1856
Preceded by	Henry Russell
Succeeded by	Original Council abolished
In office 13 Oct 1868 – 29 June 1887
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Stanley Boroughs
In office 7 April 1856 – 19 December 1857
In office 1 February 1858 – 11 April 1859
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Brisbane
In office 10 June 1859 – 10 December 1859
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	John Richardson 1810 Freuchie, Fifeshire, Scotland
Died	22 December 1888 (aged 77 or 78) Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Armidale Anglican Cemetery
Nationality	Scottish Australian
Spouse(s)	Janet Russell (m.1847)
Occupation	Pastoralist, Shopkeeper
Religion	Anglican

John Richardson (1810 – 22 December 1888) was an Australian pastoralist, store keeper and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council on three occasions (1851–54, 1855–56 and 1868–87) and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1856 and 1859.

Richardson was the son of a Presbyterian minister and was educated at parish schools. He initially worked in London as a linen draper and emigrated to Sydney in 1838. By 1842 he had established a store in Brisbane and also developed a shipping agency. Philosophically a liberal, he became politically active during the 1840s and 1850s and opposed the importation of cheap labour, whether coolie or convict and also opposed the conservative constitution proposed by William Wentworth. Richardson developed a number of pastoral stations in the Darling Downs region and also owned a large general store in Armidale.

In September 1851, prior to the establishment of responsible government, Richardson was elected to the seat of County of Stanley in the semi-elected Legislative Council. He represented the electorate until March 1854 when he resigned his seat to undertake a long tour of Britain. On his return in September 1855 he won a by-election for the Council seat of Stanley Boroughs (including Brisbane and Ipswich) which, prior to the establishment of Queensland as a separate colony in 1859, was part of New South Wales. At the first election under the new constitution he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as one of the two members for Stanley Boroughs. At the 1859 election, Richardson successfully stood for the seat of Brisbane but resigned from the seat when Queensland was granted self-government. In October 1868, he accepted a life appointment to the New South Wales Legislative Council. He did not hold a parliamentary or ministerial position.

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