Anthony O'Grady Lefroy
Encyclopedia
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(14 March 1816–21 January 1897), often known as O'Grady Lefroy, was an important government
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
official in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
before the advent of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
.
O'Grady Lefroy was born at Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 14 March 1816. He was the nephew of Thomas Langlois Lefroy
Thomas Langlois Lefroy
Thomas Langlois Lefroy was an Irish-Huguenot politician and judge. He served as an MP for the constituency of Dublin University 1830–1841, Privy Councillor of Ireland 1835–1869 and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland 1852–1866....
(Chief Justice of Ireland and Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's youthful love). In 1842, at the age of 27, he migrated to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on board the Lady Grey. In 1847, Lefroy and his brother Gerald accompanied Alfred Durlacher
Alfred Durlacher
Alfred Durlacher took part in the 1847 expedition to Gingin, Western Australia with Anthony O'Grady Lefroy....
in exploring the area that later became known as Gingin
Gingin, Western Australia
Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia. The town is located north of Perth along the Brand Highway.The town is well suited for agriculture with a mild climate and available water sources...
. Shortly afterwards, he purchased land at Walebing
Walebing, Western Australia
Walebing is a small town in the wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Located at in the Shire of Moora, it takes its name from the original homestead established by Anthony O'Grady Lefroy in the 1840s....
, where he was a pastoralist
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
until retiring in favour of his son in 1873.
Lefroy was private secretary to Governor
Governor of Western Australia
The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
Charles Fitzgerald
Charles Fitzgerald
Captain Charles Fitzgerald was the Governor of The Gambia from 1844 until 1847, then Governor of Western Australia from 1848 to 1855....
from 1843 probably until 1853, and again from 1854 to 1855. In 1851 he was Clerk to the Executive and Legislative
Western Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...
Councils. In 1856, Lefroy was appointed Colonial Treasurer, and he would hold that position for over 30 years, until the advent of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
in December 1890. He did, however, spend portions of this period in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
: he was in England in 1858, 1863–65, and 1868–71.
When Colonial Secretary of Western Australia
Colonial Secretary of Western Australia
The Colonial Secretary of Western Australia was one of the most important and powerful public offices in Western Australia, in the time when Western Australia was a British colony. The Colonial Secretary was the representative of the British Colonial Office in Western Australia, and was usually...
Frederick Barlee
Frederick Barlee
Sir Frederick Palgrave Barlee KCMG was Colonial Secretary of Western Australia from 1855 to 1875; Lieutenant-Governor of the British Honduras from 1877 to 1882; and Administrator of Trinidad in 1884....
took long service leave in July 1875, Lefroy was appointed acting Colonial Secretary. In December of that year he was appointed a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council
Western Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...
. The following year he became a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. When Barlee was posted to the British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
early in 1877, Roger Goldsworthy
Roger Goldsworthy
Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy KCMG was a British colonial administrator.Roger Goldsworthy was born in Marylebone, Middlesex in 1839, and educated at Sandhurst, the younger brother of Major-General Walter Tuckfield Goldsworthy MP...
was appointed the new Colonial Secretary; Lefroy ceased to be acting Colonial Secretary and a member of the Legislative Council on 30 August 1877. The following year, he was made CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
.
O'Grady Lefroy's 30 year tenure as Colonial Treasurer ended on 29 December 1890 when John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
, Western Australia's first Premier
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
, was sworn into the position. Lefroy retired to Perth, dying there on 21 January 1897. He was survived by his wife of 44 years Mary Bruce, and five children. One of his sons was Henry Lefroy
Henry Lefroy
Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy KCMG was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia.-Biography:Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Western Australia for over 30 years...
, who would later become the 11th Premier of Western Australia.