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Former Member Details

Mr William John FOSTER (1831 - 1909)

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 13/01/1831
Place of Birth: Rathescar, County Louth, Ireland
Date of Death: 16/08/1909
Place of Death: Valley Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Crown Lands Purchases Validation Bill Committee No.9 28 Sep 1887 23 May 1888 7 months 26 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.6 22 Sep 1887 11 Oct 1888 1 year 20 days
Standing Orders Committee No.2 21 Sep 1887 29 May 1888 8 months 9 days
Standing Orders Committee No.3 15 Mar 1887 06 Apr 1887 23 days
Member for Newtown 05 Feb 1887 14 Feb 1888 1 year 10 days
Attorney General 20 Jan 1887 18 May 1887 3 months 29 days
Privilege-Mr Barbour, MP Committee No.53 22 Jun 1886 22 Jul 1886 1 month 1 day
St Stephen’s Church of England Parsonage, Camperdown, Land Sale Bill Committee No.49 16 Jun 1886 17 Jun 1886 2 days
Settled Estates Bill Committee No.39 14 May 1886 03 Sep 1886 3 months 21 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.2 20 Nov 1885 22 Dec 1885 1 month 3 days
Member for Newtown 16 Oct 1885 21 Jan 1887 1 year 3 months 6 days
Member for Newtown 24 Oct 1881 23 Nov 1882 1 year 1 month
Minister of Justice 14 Oct 1881 04 Jan 1883 1 year 2 months 22 days
Denton’s Estate Leasing and Mortgaging Bill Committee No.20 23 Sep 1881 06 Oct 1881 14 days C hairman
Moffitt’s Estate Enabling Bill Committee No.18 06 Sep 1881 05 Oct 1881 1 month
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.9 07 Jul 1881 20 Dec 1881 5 months 14 days
Vale of Clwydd and Lithgow Valley Company’s Incorporation Bill Committee No.21 06 Jul 1881 02 Aug 1881 28 days Chairman
Vale of Clwydd and Lithgow Valley Company’s Incorporation Bill Committee No.21 04 Apr 1881 06 Apr 1881 3 days
Kurrajong Land and Riley Street Surry Hills Land Sales Bill Committee No.6 13 Jan 1881 21 Jan 1881 9 days
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.7 17 Dec 1880 15 Mar 1881 2 months 27 days Chairman
Member for Newtown 22 Nov 1880 14 Oct 1881 10 months 23 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 22 Nov 1880 14 Feb 1888 7 years 2 months 24 days
Member of Executive Council 01 Apr 1878 20 Dec 1878 8 months 20 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 23 Jan 1878 28 Oct 1880 2 years 9 months 6 days Life Appointment under the Constitution Act. Date of Writ of Summons 18 December 1877
Attorney General 18 Dec 1877 20 Dec 1878 1 year 3 days
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Lawyer (Barrister). Educated at Cheltenham College in England and Trinity College, Dublin. Left for Victorian goldfields in 1852 to become a miner and at a later time became a farmer at Wollombi. Read law under A.T Holroyd in Sydney. Admitted to the Bar in May 1858; Became a Crown Prosecutor for Northern Districts 1859-1862, 1864-1870 and for Sydney 1870. Appointed as a Queens Counsel in 1886. Appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court 1888-1894. Retained pastoral interests in 1890's and owned Black Creek near Tamworth. Estate valued at £ 10,000.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of Reverend William Henry Foster and Catherine Hamilton. Married Matilda Sophia Williams in 1854 at Sydney and had issue, 2 daughters and 6 sons. Church of England.
Additional Information
Biography and portrait in ‘Australian Men of Mark’, Volume 1. Sydney, [?1889] , page 321

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.