Andrew Aldcorn
Dr Andrew Aldcorn | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1792 Oban, Argyll, Scotland |
| Died | 13 August 1877 Bell's Creek, New South Wales |
Andrew Aldcorn (c.1792 – 13 August 1877)[1] was a Scottish medical practitioner and Free Church of Scotland elder, who became an Australian politician. He served as a nominated member of the Victorian Legislative Council from August to November 1853.[1] He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for one term between 1858 and 1859.[2] He played a leading role in the settlement of Otago in New Zealand.
Early life
[edit]Aldcorn was born in Oban, Argyll, the son of a John Aldcorn, a Scottish carpenter, and his wife Margaret, née Marshall.[1] He qualified in Medicine in Glasgow, Scotland, was awarded MD in 1829, and practiced in Oban between 1819 and 1837.
Famine Relief
[edit]He was an active Presbyterian and sat for many years in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland but in 1843 joined the breakaway group who formed the new Free Church. In that year he also gave evidence to the Poor Law Inquiry Commission, on the dismal conditions of the poor in the Parish of Oban.[3] Later, during the famine years in the Western Highlands he was prominent in the Free Church Synod of Argyll's petition to the government for aid,[4] and in commandeering the schooner Breadalbane, normally used to ferry clergy to the Isles, to distribute relief. "If there were ever a memorial put up to honour people who did their best to bring aid to famine victims in the Highlands and Islands, his name would surely have a prominent place."[5]
Otago Settlement
[edit]In 1847 he was Secretary to the Committee of the Free Church scheme to establish a colony in New Zealand, which led to the establishment of the Otago settlement in 1848.[6]
Victorian Legislative Council
[edit]Aldcorn himself had invested in a farming enterprise in Victoria Port Phillip District around 1841 (then still part of New South Wales).[1] and in 1853 came out to the colony to inspect his investment. On 29 August 1853, Aldcorn was nominated to the Victorian Legislative Council replacing Archibald Michie.[7] He remained a member until resigning in November 1853.[1]
New South Wales
[edit]Aldcorn established a successful medical practice in the Shoalhaven district from around 1854.[1] At the 1858 election Aldcorn contested the seat of St Vincent and was elected unopposed. He retired from public life at the next election in 1859.
He died in 1877.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Aldcorn, Andrew". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Dr Andrew Aldcorn (1792–1877)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ Poor Inquiry Scotland, Appendix, Part II. Edinburgh: HMSO. 1844. p. 162.
- ^ Accounts and Papers, Parliament, House of Lords. Vol. 12. Great Britain: Parliament. 1847. p. 24.
- ^ Hunter, James (2019). Insurrection: Scotland's Famine Winter. Edinburgh: Birlinn. pp. 81–2. ISBN 9781788852319.
- ^ Hocken, Thomas Morland (1898). Contributions to the Early History of New Zealand: Settlement of Otago. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co. pp. 62–73.
- ^ Sweetman, Edward (1920). Constitutional Development of Victoria, 1851-6. Whitcombe & Tombs Limited. p. 176. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ Obituary in Otago Witness, 6 October 1877.