John Street (Australian politician)
John Rendell Street | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Legislative Assembly of New South Wales for East Sydney | |
| In office 5 February 1887 – 23 March 1891 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 October 1832 Bathurst, New South Wales |
| Died | 23 March 1891 (aged 58) Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales |
| Political party | Free Trade |
| Spouse(s) | Susanna Lawson |
| Relations | Street family Smith family |
| Children | Sir Philip Street |
John Rendell Street (19 October 1832 – 23 March 1891) was an Australian businessman, banker and politician. He served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of East Sydney from 1887 until his death.[1] He descended from Baron Sir Thomas Street, an English Chief Justice, and he is the patriarch of Australia's Street dynasty through his son Sir Philip Street.
In 1886, Street founded the Perpetual Trustee Company as managing director with fellow trustees Edmund Barton and James Fairfax. He was a partner in the law firm Allen, Street & Norton, a director of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Company, and a vice president of Sydney Hospital. He had his children by Susanna Lawson, the daughter of William Lawson.
Background[]
John Rendell Street was born to Maria Wood and John Street at the property known as Woodlands, near Bathurst, New South Wales.[2] His father descended from Baron Sir Thomas Street, an English Chief Justice of the last King's Bench before the Glorious Revolution. Both parents were born in England and arrived in Australia as free settlers in 1822 via the passenger ship Thalia.[3]
Career[]
Street was a partner in the law firm Allen, Street & Norton. In 1886, he founded the Perpetual Trustee Company as managing director with Edmund Barton and James Fairfax as fellow trustees. He was a director of Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Company, and a vice president of Sydney Hospital.[4] In 1887, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a Free Trade member for East Sydney, a position he held until his death at Elizabeth Bay in 1891.[5] He is recognised as the founder of Australia's Street dynasty for being the first member of his family to go about public service in Australia.
Marriage[]
On 4 December 1860, he married Susanna Caroline Lawson, daughter of Australian politician and explorer Commandant William Lawson, who made the first settler crossing across the Blue Mountains with Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth. Street's brother-in-law via his sister Sarah Maria was the Australian politician and banker Thomas Whistler Smith, deputy chairman of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney (now NAB).[6]
Family[]
John and Susanna had seven children, the eldest son being Sir Philip Street, who would go on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, as would John's grandson Sir Kenneth Street and great-grandson Sir Laurence Street.[5] The Street family is the only dynasty in Australian history to hold vice-regal office for three consecutive generations.[7] John's third son Ernest married Emma Browne, the daughter of Australian author Thomas Alexander Browne. John's great-great-grandchildren Sandy Street and Sylvia Street became federal judges.
References[]
- ^ Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: Street family - further papers, 1861 - 1972
- ^ "Sir Laurence Street: the very model of a modern chief justice".
- ^ Lillingston family papers, 1819 - 1925, and Ogilvie family papers, 1824 - 1896
- ^ Sun-Herald (Sydney), 20 Feb 1972.
- ^ a b "Mr John Rendell Street (1832-1891)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Karen Fox, Australian Legal Dynasties: The Stephens and the Streets (Sydney, 2015)
- ^ "STREET, Thomas (1625-96), of Worcester and the Inner Temple. | History of Parliament Online".
- 1832 births
- 1891 deaths
- Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
- Free Trade Party politicians
- 19th-century Australian politicians
- Street family