John Gray was an Australian politician.

Born at Castlemaine

Castlemaine, Victoria

Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...

 to James and Anna Gray, he attended Dame School, Swan Hill State School and Brighton Grammar School before working near Swan Hill

Swan Hill, Victoria

Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...

 on farming stations. He was a mail contractor from Swan Hill to Euston in 1881 but established a stock agency in Swan Hill after eighteen months. In 1882 he married Annie Tuck, with whom he had five children. In 1891, having inherited his father's punting service across the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

, he erected a pontoon bridge. He was a Swan Hill Shire Councillor

Shire of Swan Hill

The Shire of Swan Hill was a Local Government Area located in northwestern Victoria, Australia, along the Murray River. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1893 until 1995. From 1939 onwards, Swan Hill itself was managed by a separate entity, ultimately known as the City of Swan Hill...

 from 1885 to 1888 and from 1889 to 1893, serving as president from 1892 to 1893; he was then a Castle Donnington Shire Councillor (re-named Swan Hill in 1904) from 1893 to 1907, serving as president for three terms (1893–95, 1896–97, 1903–04). In 1904 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 as the member for Swan Hill

Electoral district of Swan Hill

The Electoral district of Swan Hill is a rural Lower House electoral district of the Victorian Parliament. It is located within the Northern Victoria Region of the Legislative Council ....

, serving until 1917; he was a Liberal

Commonwealth Liberal Party

The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....

 and then a Nationalist

Nationalist Party of Australia

The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...

. He was a minister without portfolio from 1913 to 1917. Gray died in Swan Hill in 1925.