Josiah Symon
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The Honourable Sir Josiah Symon KCMG |
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| Senator for South Australia | |
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In office 30 March 1901 – 30 June 1913 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
27 September 1846 Wick, Highland, Scotland |
| Died | 29 March 1934 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Scottish Australian |
| Political party |
Free Trade (1901–06) Anti-Socialist (1906–09) Independent (1909–13) |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Cowle |
| Occupation | Barrister |
Sir Josiah Henry Symon KCMG (27 September 1846 – 29 March 1934), Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, was a member of the Australian Senate in the First Australian Parliament, and an Attorney-General of Australia.
Symon was born in Wick, a town in the county of Caithness in the Scottish Highlands, in 1846. He was educated at Stirling High School, where he was the dux in 1862, before attending the Free Church Training College in Edinburgh. His brother, David Symon, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.
In 1866 he emigrated to South Australia and was employed as an articled clerk with his cousin, J D Sutherland, a solicitor in the city of Mount Gambier. The leader of the South Australian Bar Association at the time (and a future Chief Justice of South Australia), Samuel Way, noticed Symon's work and invited him to join his firm. Symon, having completed his studies, was called to the bar in 1871, and admitted to practice as a barrister. In 1872, after the death of one of the partners at Way's firm, Symon became a partner alongside Way. In 1876, Way was appointed as a judge, and Symon bought out his part of the business.
In March 1881, Symon was made Attorney-General of South Australia in the Morgan government, although at the time he had not been elected to the Parliament of South Australia. He was elected as the member for Sturt in the South Australian House of Assembly several weeks later. However, the Morgan government lost power on 24 June of that year, and Symon lost his position as Attorney-General. Later in 1881, Symon was made a Queen's Counsel, and on 8 December of that year he married Mary Cowle, with whom he was to have five sons and seven daughters. In 1884, Symon was offered a judicial position, but he declined to accept it. He travelled to England in 1886, and was offered a nomination for a seat in the British House of Commons, however he declined this opportunity also. In 1887, after returning to Australia, he lost his seat in the South Australian parliament.
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