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John Robertson (Australian politician)
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Sir John Robertson, KCMG
(15 October 1816 – 8 May 1891) was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales
on five occasions. Robertson is best remembered for land reform and in particular the Robertson Land Acts
of 1861, which sought to open up the selection of Crown land and break the monopoly of the squatters.
Robertson was elected to Parliament in 1856 supporting manhood suffrage, secret ballot
, electorates
based on equal populations, abolition of state aid to religion, government non-denominational schools, free trade
, and land reform. He saw free selection of crown land
before survey as the key to social reform with poor settlers being able to occupy agricultural and pastoral land, even that occupied by lease-holding squatters
. This insight enabled him to dominate the politics of 1856-61.
, London
. His father, James Robertson, was Scottish, his mother English, and the family emigrated to Australia
in 1820 on the advice of Sir Thomas Brisbane
. They were apparently in good circumstances, for, according to the custom of the time, anyone bringing to the colony a sum of not less than £2500 was entitled to a first class grant of 2500 acres (10 km²) of land, and this they received in the upper Hunter district. James Robertson was also appointed general superintendent of government clocks and received a 35 hectare grant at Robertson's Point, Cremorne Point
.
Robertson at five years of age was sent to the school in Sydney just opened by John Dunmore Lang
. Subsequently he attended schools kept by Bradley Gilchrist and W. T. Cape
. Among his schoolfellows were two other boys destined to become premiers of New South Wales, James Martin
and William Forster. On leaving school about the year 1833 Robertson went to sea and worked his passage to England where, through the medium of some letters of introduction, he accidentally came in contact with Lord Palmerston
. The personality of the young man so impressed Palmerston that he invited him to stay with him for a few days in the country. There he introduced him to various distinguished people, and afterwards when he was leaving England gave him a letter to the governor, Sir Richard Bourke
.
Robertson visited France and South America, and, after an absence of two years, left the sea and joined his family in northern New South Wales. He engaged in grazing
and the farming of crops for some years. He married Madge Davies when he was 21 and they were to have three sons and six daughters. He made himself prominent in the struggle between the squatters
and Governor Sir George Gipps
, who attempted to restrict the expansion of grazing in northwestern New South Wales in an attempt to protect Aboriginals
from dispossession and massacre.
seat of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh
, promising manhood suffrage, secret ballot, electorates based on equal populations, abolition of state aid to religion, government non-denominational schools, free trade, and free selection of crown lands before survey. Although unable to campaign due to poor health he won and took his seat with the Liberal party. Although he held rural freehold
, squatting leases and leased land to tenant farmers, he became convinced that agriculture was being unfairly handicapped by the land laws. He believed that social equilibrium could be achieved through land reform and he gained great support in urban and rural areas as a result.
In January 1858, he joined the second Cowper
ministry as Secretary for Lands and Public Works. He was largely responsible for amending the electoral law to introduce adult male franchise, increase Legislative Assembly seats from 54 to 80, although eight of these were abolished when Queensland separated in late 1859. It also included a seat for the University of Sydney
once it had 100 graduates, which did not occur to 1876. In the June 1859 general election, he was re-elected to his seat, now called Upper Hunter
. The Cowper government was defeated in October 1859, partly as a result of Robertson's opposition to the education bill. The succeeding Forster government was forced to resign when it lost a parliamentary vote in February 1860.
Robertson became Premier, in March 1860 and completed the drafting of legislation to put into effect his land reforms, the Crown Lands Alienation bill and the Crown Lands Occupation bill, which allowed free selection before survey. These bill were defeated in committee in October. This enabled him to obtain a dissolution from Governor Denison
and to fight an election on the issue in December, which gave him a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly, all the candidates who publicly opposed land reform having been defeated.
Robertson handed over the Premiership to Cowper on 10 January 1861, while Robertson concentrated on the land bills as Secretary for Lands. He had his land bills passed by the Assembly on 27 March and resigned from the Assembly so that he could be appointed to the Legislative Council
on 3 April to complete the process. As the Council was resolutely opposed to the land bills, he persuaded Premier to ask the new Governor Sir John Young
to swamp the Council with 21 new members. Before administering the oath to the new members the President of the Council, Sir W. W. Burton
, announced his resignation and left the chamber. Other members followed his example, there was no quorum, and on the same day Parliament was prorogued. The five-year terms of the 1856 Council appointments had run out and the Governor appointed a new Council to life terms, including Robertson. Due to the reappointment of Council, the land bills had to be passed again by the Assembly in September and were passed by the Council on October 1861. The resulting act remained the law of the country for many years.
Robertson resigned from the Council in December 1861 and John Garrett resigned the seat of Shoalhaven
to allow him to win it at a by-election in January 1862. He successfully contested the seat of West Sydney
, a working class electorate, in the November 1864 general election. In February 1865, he was appointed as Secretary for Lands again in the fourth Cowper ministry. He resigned from Parliament to sort out his financial difficulties through the failure of some properties he held in northern Queensland
in October 1865, but he was renominated to fill the vacancy eight days later. In the January 1866 election, he was defeated in West Sydney, due to opposition to the Government's policy of preserving some crown land for public purposes, such as water supply, and to a false claim, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald
, that he was "the President of the Fenian
Society." Martin
compared him to Tiberius Gracchus
: "both advocated the cause of free selection, both hit upon the same amount of land for each individual … [and] both had been the idols of the people … [and] deserted by the people." He won a by-election for Clarence
in August 1866, and represented it to November 1869.
In January 1868, holding the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary, Robertson formed his second ministry and he won back West Sydney in the December 1869 general election. He was unable to get any of his own legislation passed and relinquished the premiership but to Cowper in January 1870 and in February, he was forced to resign from Parliament due to bankruptcy. A committee was formed to raise and invest funds to sort out his financial problems and he won back West Sydney in March and discharged his bankruptcy in August.
Robertson rejoined the ministry in August 1870 as Secretary for Lands. This government had a very small majority in the house, and when Cowper was appointed agent-general in London it resigned. Sir James Martin
was sent for and to the surprise of the country Robertson joined him as Colonial Secretary in his ministry. At the general election held early in 1872, three members of the government were defeated, and Parkes
came into power on 14 May 1872, there was a constant struggle between the parties under Robertson and Parkes for some years.
Robertson was Premier again in February 1875, Parkes in March 1877, Robertson in August 1877; but this ministry only lasted until December. He called an election in November 1877, at which he was beaten in West Sydney, but won Mudgee
and East Macquarie
and chose to represent Mudgee until December 1878. The coming-in of the Farnell ministry in 1877 gave the main contestants time to take breath and consider the position, and in December 1878 a coalition was made between Parkes and Robertson which led to a ministry which lasted for over four years and did some really useful work. Parkes was Premier, and Robertson went to the Legislative Council as vice-president of the Executive Council
. In 1879, he founded the Royal National Park
. During Parkes's absence in England, between December 1881 and August 1882, Robertson was acting-Premier and Colonial Secretary. On 31 December 1881, he resigned from the Legislative Council and was returned as member for Mudgee at a by-election in January 1882. The general election held in December 1882 was adverse to the government and it resigned.
Robertson formed his fifth ministry in December 1885 but resigned in the following February. He was a trustee of the Royal National Park and he injured his leg while working on it, which increased his depression and this together with his poor finances led him to retire from parliament in June 1886. A grant of £10,000 was made to him by the government. Henceforth he lived in retirement, his health was impaired and he was unable to take part in public life. He was strongly against federation
, almost his last act was the sending of a letter opposing it to the Sydney Morning Herald, which appeared on the day preceding his death.
Robertson died in Watsons Bay
and was accorded a public funeral.
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
(KCMG) in 1877. His statue graces the Domain near the Art Gallery of New South Wales
. The Federal division of Robertson
, the former state electoral district of Robertson
, and the NSW Southern Highlands town of Robertson
were all named after him.
One of his daughters, Margaret-Emma, married the explorer Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, who built the first Marine Biological Station in Australia at Watsons Bay, New South Wales
.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(15 October 1816 – 8 May 1891) was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...
on five occasions. Robertson is best remembered for land reform and in particular the Robertson Land Acts
Robertson Land Acts
The Crown Lands Acts 1861 were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings and in particular to break the squatters' domination of land tenure...
of 1861, which sought to open up the selection of Crown land and break the monopoly of the squatters.
Robertson was elected to Parliament in 1856 supporting manhood suffrage, secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
, electorates
New South Wales Legislative Assembly electoral districts
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is elected from 93 single-member electorates called districts.- Current districts :This is a list of districts for the 2011 state election.* Albury* Auburn* Ballina...
based on equal populations, abolition of state aid to religion, government non-denominational schools, free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
, and land reform. He saw free selection of crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
before survey as the key to social reform with poor settlers being able to occupy agricultural and pastoral land, even that occupied by lease-holding squatters
Squatting (pastoral)
In Australian history, a squatter was one who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first Europeans in the area....
. This insight enabled him to dominate the politics of 1856-61.
Biography
Robertson was born at BowBow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father, James Robertson, was Scottish, his mother English, and the family emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1820 on the advice of Sir Thomas Brisbane
Thomas Brisbane
Major-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet GCH, GCB, FRS, FRSE was a British soldier, colonial Governor and astronomer.-Early life:...
. They were apparently in good circumstances, for, according to the custom of the time, anyone bringing to the colony a sum of not less than £2500 was entitled to a first class grant of 2500 acres (10 km²) of land, and this they received in the upper Hunter district. James Robertson was also appointed general superintendent of government clocks and received a 35 hectare grant at Robertson's Point, Cremorne Point
Cremorne Point, New South Wales
Cremorne Point is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cremorne is located 6 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of North Sydney Council....
.
Robertson at five years of age was sent to the school in Sydney just opened by John Dunmore Lang
John Dunmore Lang
John Dunmore Lang , Australian Presbyterian clergyman, writer, politician and activist, was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian republicanism.-Background and Family:...
. Subsequently he attended schools kept by Bradley Gilchrist and W. T. Cape
William Timothy Cape
William Timothy Cape was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the Premiers of New South Wales attended his school....
. Among his schoolfellows were two other boys destined to become premiers of New South Wales, James Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
and William Forster. On leaving school about the year 1833 Robertson went to sea and worked his passage to England where, through the medium of some letters of introduction, he accidentally came in contact with Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
. The personality of the young man so impressed Palmerston that he invited him to stay with him for a few days in the country. There he introduced him to various distinguished people, and afterwards when he was leaving England gave him a letter to the governor, Sir Richard Bourke
Richard Bourke
General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia between 1831 and 1837.-Early life and career:...
.
Robertson visited France and South America, and, after an absence of two years, left the sea and joined his family in northern New South Wales. He engaged in grazing
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
and the farming of crops for some years. He married Madge Davies when he was 21 and they were to have three sons and six daughters. He made himself prominent in the struggle between the squatters
Squatting (pastoral)
In Australian history, a squatter was one who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock. Initially often having no legal rights to the land, they gained its usage by being the first Europeans in the area....
and Governor Sir George Gipps
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...
, who attempted to restrict the expansion of grazing in northwestern New South Wales in an attempt to protect Aboriginals
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
from dispossession and massacre.
Parliamentary career
With the establishment of responsible government in 1856, Robertson stood for the Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
seat of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh
Electoral district of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh
Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1856 to 1859. It included Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh counties, including Scone, Murrurundi, Dunedoo and Mudgee. It was replaced by Upper Hunter and Mudgee.-Members for...
, promising manhood suffrage, secret ballot, electorates based on equal populations, abolition of state aid to religion, government non-denominational schools, free trade, and free selection of crown lands before survey. Although unable to campaign due to poor health he won and took his seat with the Liberal party. Although he held rural freehold
Fee simple
In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
, squatting leases and leased land to tenant farmers, he became convinced that agriculture was being unfairly handicapped by the land laws. He believed that social equilibrium could be achieved through land reform and he gained great support in urban and rural areas as a result.
In January 1858, he joined the second Cowper
Charles Cowper
Sir Charles Cowper, KCMG was an Australian politician and the Premier of New South Wales on five different occasions from 1856 to 1870....
ministry as Secretary for Lands and Public Works. He was largely responsible for amending the electoral law to introduce adult male franchise, increase Legislative Assembly seats from 54 to 80, although eight of these were abolished when Queensland separated in late 1859. It also included a seat for the University of Sydney
Electoral district of University of Sydney
University of Sydney was a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1876 to 1880. It was established in the 1858 redistribution to be elected by graduates of the University of Sydney once there were 100 eligible electors...
once it had 100 graduates, which did not occur to 1876. In the June 1859 general election, he was re-elected to his seat, now called Upper Hunter
Electoral district of Upper Hunter
Upper Hunter is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by George Souris of the National Party of Australia....
. The Cowper government was defeated in October 1859, partly as a result of Robertson's opposition to the education bill. The succeeding Forster government was forced to resign when it lost a parliamentary vote in February 1860.
First ministry and land reform
Robertson became Premier, in March 1860 and completed the drafting of legislation to put into effect his land reforms, the Crown Lands Alienation bill and the Crown Lands Occupation bill, which allowed free selection before survey. These bill were defeated in committee in October. This enabled him to obtain a dissolution from Governor Denison
William Denison
Sir William Thomas Denison, KCB was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 20 January 1855 to 22 January 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866....
and to fight an election on the issue in December, which gave him a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly, all the candidates who publicly opposed land reform having been defeated.
Robertson handed over the Premiership to Cowper on 10 January 1861, while Robertson concentrated on the land bills as Secretary for Lands. He had his land bills passed by the Assembly on 27 March and resigned from the Assembly so that he could be appointed to the Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
on 3 April to complete the process. As the Council was resolutely opposed to the land bills, he persuaded Premier to ask the new Governor Sir John Young
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, Bt, GCB, GCMG, PC was the second Governor General of Canada, in office from 1869 to 1872.-Biography:...
to swamp the Council with 21 new members. Before administering the oath to the new members the President of the Council, Sir W. W. Burton
William Westbrooke Burton
Sir William Westbrooke Burton was a judge and president of the legislative council, New South Wales, .-Early life:...
, announced his resignation and left the chamber. Other members followed his example, there was no quorum, and on the same day Parliament was prorogued. The five-year terms of the 1856 Council appointments had run out and the Governor appointed a new Council to life terms, including Robertson. Due to the reappointment of Council, the land bills had to be passed again by the Assembly in September and were passed by the Council on October 1861. The resulting act remained the law of the country for many years.
Robertson resigned from the Council in December 1861 and John Garrett resigned the seat of Shoalhaven
Electoral district of Shoalhaven
Shoalhaven was a former electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1859 to 1904. It included the lower part of the Shoalhaven valley. It replaced parts of Eastern Camden and St Vincent. It was replaced by Allowrie.-Members for Shoalhaven:...
to allow him to win it at a by-election in January 1862. He successfully contested the seat of West Sydney
Electoral district of West Sydney
West Sydney was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales created in 1859 from part of the electoral district of Sydney, covering the western part of the current Sydney central business district, Ultimo and Pyrmont, bordered by George Street,...
, a working class electorate, in the November 1864 general election. In February 1865, he was appointed as Secretary for Lands again in the fourth Cowper ministry. He resigned from Parliament to sort out his financial difficulties through the failure of some properties he held in northern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in October 1865, but he was renominated to fill the vacancy eight days later. In the January 1866 election, he was defeated in West Sydney, due to opposition to the Government's policy of preserving some crown land for public purposes, such as water supply, and to a false claim, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, that he was "the President of the Fenian
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
Society." Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
compared him to Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
: "both advocated the cause of free selection, both hit upon the same amount of land for each individual … [and] both had been the idols of the people … [and] deserted by the people." He won a by-election for Clarence
Electoral district of Clarence
Clarence is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales.It was represented by Steve Cansdell of the National Party of Australia until he resigned on 16th September 2011 due to issues relating to a statutory declaration related to a speeding offence...
in August 1866, and represented it to November 1869.
Second ministry
In January 1868, holding the offices of Premier and Colonial Secretary, Robertson formed his second ministry and he won back West Sydney in the December 1869 general election. He was unable to get any of his own legislation passed and relinquished the premiership but to Cowper in January 1870 and in February, he was forced to resign from Parliament due to bankruptcy. A committee was formed to raise and invest funds to sort out his financial problems and he won back West Sydney in March and discharged his bankruptcy in August.
Robertson rejoined the ministry in August 1870 as Secretary for Lands. This government had a very small majority in the house, and when Cowper was appointed agent-general in London it resigned. Sir James Martin
James Martin (Australian politician)
Sir James Martin, KCB, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.-Early career:...
was sent for and to the surprise of the country Robertson joined him as Colonial Secretary in his ministry. At the general election held early in 1872, three members of the government were defeated, and Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
came into power on 14 May 1872, there was a constant struggle between the parties under Robertson and Parkes for some years.
Third and fourth ministries
Robertson was Premier again in February 1875, Parkes in March 1877, Robertson in August 1877; but this ministry only lasted until December. He called an election in November 1877, at which he was beaten in West Sydney, but won Mudgee
Electoral district of Mudgee
Mudgee was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales first created in 1859, partly replacing Wellington and Bligh and named after and including Mudgee. Following the abolition of Goldfields West in 1880, it elected three members simultaneously,...
and East Macquarie
Electoral district of East Macquarie
East Macquarie was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1859 and 1894, in the Bathurst region. It was represented by two members, with voters casting two votes and the first two candidates being elected.-Members for East Macquarie:...
and chose to represent Mudgee until December 1878. The coming-in of the Farnell ministry in 1877 gave the main contestants time to take breath and consider the position, and in December 1878 a coalition was made between Parkes and Robertson which led to a ministry which lasted for over four years and did some really useful work. Parkes was Premier, and Robertson went to the Legislative Council as vice-president of the Executive Council
Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)
An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...
. In 1879, he founded the Royal National Park
Royal National Park
Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney CBD.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term...
. During Parkes's absence in England, between December 1881 and August 1882, Robertson was acting-Premier and Colonial Secretary. On 31 December 1881, he resigned from the Legislative Council and was returned as member for Mudgee at a by-election in January 1882. The general election held in December 1882 was adverse to the government and it resigned.
Fifth ministry and retirement
Robertson formed his fifth ministry in December 1885 but resigned in the following February. He was a trustee of the Royal National Park and he injured his leg while working on it, which increased his depression and this together with his poor finances led him to retire from parliament in June 1886. A grant of £10,000 was made to him by the government. Henceforth he lived in retirement, his health was impaired and he was unable to take part in public life. He was strongly against federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
, almost his last act was the sending of a letter opposing it to the Sydney Morning Herald, which appeared on the day preceding his death.
Robertson died in Watsons Bay
Watsons Bay, New South Wales
Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra....
and was accorded a public funeral.
Honours
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(KCMG) in 1877. His statue graces the Domain near the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
. The Federal division of Robertson
Division of Robertson
The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....
, the former state electoral district of Robertson
Electoral district of Robertson
Robertson was a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1894 to 1904, in the upper Hunter Valley around Scone and named after John Robertson.-Members for Robertson:...
, and the NSW Southern Highlands town of Robertson
Robertson, New South Wales
Robertson is a small town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town is located on the edge of an elevated plateau about 35 km from the coast. At the 2006 census, Robertson had a population of 1,206 people.Robertson is known for its high annual...
were all named after him.
One of his daughters, Margaret-Emma, married the explorer Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay, who built the first Marine Biological Station in Australia at Watsons Bay, New South Wales
Watsons Bay, New South Wales
Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra....
.