Sir simon fraser biography death

Simon Fraser, a successful entrepreneur who became wealthy from dealings in construction, grazing and banking, was a prominent and respected public figure. Educated at a local school, Fraser emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty-one, arriving in Melbourne on the Aurora in Going immediately to the Bendigo goldfields to work on the diggings, he quickly recognised that a more reliable income could be earned selling stores to miners.

In , he moved to Melbourne, setting up a store in Elizabeth Street, where he engaged in such ventures as importing potatoes from Sydney. In , Fraser went to Queensland, where he formed the Squatting Investment Company in partnership with three others. On his return to Victoria in , he and his partners purchased properties near Echuca.

The land had appreciated due to the advent of the railways which he had helped to build and which made mass production of wool extremely profitable.

Simon fraser outlander actor

Between and , Fraser had arranged for J. Loughead, a Canadian, to drill for artesian water on his Queensland properties. As a result, water was brought to usually dry pastures, and the Queensland Government employed Loughead to bore for water in other areas. Later, Fraser wrote a short paper on artesian water in Australia. Re-elected in and twice in , he served until when he resigned to travel abroad, returning to Australia in He made unsuccessful bids for the Victorian Legislative Assembly in and for the Legislative Council in April An enthusiastic supporter of Federation, he was a Victorian delegate to the Australasian Federal Convention in —98, where he waxed eloquent on issues in which he had particular expertise and interest.

For instance, he opposed the federalisation of railways and a proposal that State parliamentarians should not sit in the Commonwealth Parliament. In , Fraser stood as a Protectionist for the Senate for Victoria, was elected at the top of the poll; he was re-elected in Fraser moved the first Address-in-Reply in the Senate.