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Henry O'Brien (1793 – 27 January 1866) was an Irish-born politician and pastoralist in New South Wales, Australia.

Early life

He was born at Hollymount in County Mayo to farmer Henry O'Brien and Catherine née Browne. His father died when he was young and he and his brothers Cornelius and Thomas were raised by their uncle William Browne. He worked on his uncle's properties before migrating to Sydney via Calcutta, arriving in April 1816. His mother, uncle and brothers all arrived in Sydney in 1816. Henry assisted in managing a property at Abbotsbury, while Cornelious managed a property in the Illawarra. From 1821 Henry was granted 600 acres (240 ha) at Bathurst where he established a sheep station. Thomas disappeared on a journey to Bathurst in 1823. O'Brien also acquired a sheep station at Jugiong, which he named Douro. On 25 July 1836 he married Isabella Macdonald, however she died two years later (aged 27). O'Brien remarried on 28 November 1840 to Elizabeth Sadlier Cruden, with whom he had a son also named Henry.

There was a depression in New South Wales in 1843 and sheep were unsaleable. O'Brien popularised the process of boiling down wethers to produce tallow which restored some value to the sheep. He had introduced merino sheep to the Yass district, having bought 5 rams from John Macarthur, which he crossed with Saxon sheep and subsequently imported Negretti sheep as part of his breeding activities. O'Brien returned to England with his family in 1856 and his son was educated at Eton College.

Political career

O'Brien was elected a member of the Yass District Council in 1844, along with his brother Cornelious In 1860 he was elected unopposed to the Legislative Assembly for Yass Plains, but he resigned in 1861 due to ill health.

Later life and death

O'Brien was winding up his affairs in New South Wales, intending to join Elizabeth in England, however he died at Douro near Jugiong on the Yass Plains in 1866 (aged 73). He was survived by Elizabeth, his son having died in August 1865. Elizabeth died at Bishopthorpe in Goulburn on 21 June 1892.

References

1. ^ Scott, Peter (1967). "O'Brien, Henry (1793–1866)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
2. "Celebration of the Centenary of Yass". Sydney Mail. 9 March 1921. p. 14. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via Trove.
3. Green, Antony. "1860 Yass Plains". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
4. ^ "Mr Henry O'Brien (1793-1866)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
5. "Death of Mrs. O'Brien, of Douro". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. 21 June 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via Trove.

• 1793 births
• 1866 deaths
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• 19th-century Australian politicians
• Politicians from County Mayo
• People from Hollymount
• Irish emigrants to colonial Australia