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Frederick Augustus Cooper (8 August 1834 – 12 November 1908) was an Australian politician who was a Member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Personal

Cooper was born in Sydney to Robert and Sarah May Cooper. He married Margaret Dalton Watson in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia on 16 April 1883, the daughter of mining magnate John Boyd Watson, with whom he had six daughters.

Career

Cooper was 24 when he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Braidwood at the 1859 election, but served for only one year before resigning, to accept an appointment as a sub-commissioner of goldfields. He was initially at Kiandra, however an inquiry had found he had committed errors, including illegal acts, as a result of his inexperience and he was transferred to Araluen. In the Legislative Assembly Bowie Wilson, the member for Goldfields South, criticised the then Secretary for Lands, John Robertson for not dismissing Cooper. Cooper resigned as sub-commissioner shortly after Wilson had been appointed Secretary for Lands. Cooper opposed Wilson at the Goldfields South by-election in November 1863, but received less than 10% of the vote.

He was called to the bar in New South Wales and Queensland in 1864. He was admitted to the bar in Victoria in 1883 and also practised in New Zealand.

He was a practicing barrister in Cooktown in North Queensland from 1874 and on 5 March 1878 was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the member for Cook, which included Cooktown. He served until 4 March 1884 when his re-election in October 1863 was overturned by the Committee of Elections and Qualifications, following allegations of "ballot stuffing", as there were too many votes cast at the California Gully and Halpin's Creek polling stations given the number of electors.

Death

Cooper died in Melbourne on 12 November 1908.

References

1. ^ "Mr Frederick Augustus Cooper (1834-1908)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
2. "Part 2.15 – Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2017 and the Legislative Council 1860–1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. "Family Notices". Bendigo Advertiser. 21 April 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 31 May 2016 – via Trove.
4. Cusack, Frank. "Watson, John Boyd (1828–1889)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
5. Green, Antony. "1859 Braidwood". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
6. "Appointment: Sub-Commissioners of Gold Fields". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 148. 14 August 1860. p. 1510. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via Trove.
7. "Legislative Assembly: Mr Commissioner Cooper". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 December 1862. p. 8. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via Trove.
8. "Nomination for the Southern Gold-Fields". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 1863. p. 8. Retrieved 17 June 2021 – via Trove.
9. Green, Antony. "1863 Goldfields South by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
10. "Cooper, Frederick Augustus". Former members of the Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
11. "Herberton". The Northern Miner. 6 November 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2015 – via Trove.
12. "Death of Mr. Frederick Augustus Cooper". The Brisbane Courier. 13 November 1908. Retrieved 17 March 2016 – via Trove.
13. "Death of Mr F A Cooper". Evening News. 12 November 1908. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via Trove.
14. Robert “Black Bob” Cooper 1777-1857, AustralianRoyalty.net.au

• 1834 births
• 1908 deaths
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• 19th-century Australian politicians
• Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
• Politicians from Sydney
• Lawyers from Sydney