Patrick Jennings

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Patrick Jennings bigraphy, stories - New South Wales politician and Premier

Patrick Jennings : biography

20 March 1831 – 11 July 1897

Sir Patrick Alfred Jennings KCMG (20 March 1831 – 11 July 1897) was an Irish-Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales.

Early life

Jennings was born at Newry, Ireland, the son of Francis Jennings, a well-known merchant in that town. He was educated at Newry and at a high school at Exeter, England, and began a mercantile career. In 1852 he went to Australia and engaged in gold mining at St Arnaud, Victoria, but soon became a shop keeper, and then moved into quartz-crushing and bought a large pastoral property on the Murrumbidgee River. In 1857 he became a magistrate. He ran unsuccessfully for the Crowlands in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1859 and then became chairman of the St Arnaud Council. In 1863, he married Mary Ann Shanahan and moved to Warbreccan near Deniliquin.

In 1863 he became interested in the movement to form the Riverina district into a separate province, and two years later was asked to go to England as a delegate to bring the grievances of the district before the English authorities. He declined on the ground that it should be possible to clear up the difficulties with the New South Wales government.

Notes

Honours

He was a leading man among his co-religionists. In 1874 he was honoured by Pope Pius IX with the Order of St. Gregory the Great, and in 1876 was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Pius IX and St. Gregory the Great; he also received the Grand Cross of Pius IX from Pope Leo XIII. He was made an honorary LL.D. of Dublin University, and was created K.C.M.G. in 1880.

The town of Jennings, New South Wales was named in his honour.

Political career

Jennings was nominated to the legislative council in 1867. He resigned in 1870 to enter the Legislative Assembly as member for the Murray, but after 1872 was out of politics for some years. He contested Mudgee unsuccessfully in 1874. He represented the colonies of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, at the Philadelphia exhibition in 1876, and subsequently visited Europe.

Jennings was an amiable, cultivated man much interested in art and music; he contributed £1100 to Sydney University towards the cost of an organ for the great hall. He made many friends but was not a great parliamentarian, though he was a prominent figure in the public life of New South Wales for many years.

Jennings died at Brisbane on 11 July 1897. His wife had died in 1887, but he was survived by two sons and a daughter.