Bolton Stafford Bird 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....

 (30 January 1840 – 15 December 1924) was an English

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...

-born Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Congregationalist clergyman, farmer and politician.

Bird was born in Hazlerigg

Hazlerigg

Hazlerigg is a village and civil parish in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is about north of the city centre, on the A1. It is split between Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside, each side of the A1 being a different district...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, the son of the local schoolmaster

Schoolmaster

A schoolmaster, or simply master, once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.The teacher in charge of a school is the headmaster...

. In 1852 the family emigrated to Australia and began farming at Clunes, Victoria

Clunes, Victoria

Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census it had a population of 1,026.- History :...

. In 1865 Bird was ordained in the Wesleyan Methodist Church

Wesleyan Methodist Church

The Wesleyan Methodist Church was a Methodist denomination in the United States organized on May 13, 1841. It was composed of ministers and laypeople who withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church because of disagreements regarding slavery, church government, and the doctrine of holiness...

, but in 1867 transferred to the Congregational Church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

 as minister

Minister of religion

In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...

 of the church at Ballarat. In 1870 he took charge of several churches in the Avoca

Avoca, Victoria

Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. At the 2006 census, Avoca had a population of 951.-Geography:...

 district.

In 1874 he took over the church in Davey Street, Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, but resigned in 1877 due to ill-health and bought a farm near Geeveston in the Huon

Huon Valley

The Huon Valley Council is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It is the southern-most local government area in Australia.It encompasses the town of Huonville, on the Huon River, some surrounding towns, and many protected areas and forestry plantations...

 district. He grew apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

s, which he began to ship to England, thus becoming a pioneer of the Tasmanian apple export industry. In August 1891, however, the Bank of Van Diemen's Land, with whom Bird held a mortgage

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

, collapsed and he lost the farm, moving to a much smaller property at Lunawanna on Bruny Island.

In 1882, Bird was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 for Franklin

Franklin, Tasmania

Franklin is a small township on the western side of the Huon River in the south-east of Tasmania, between Huonville and Geeveston. At the 2006 census, Franklin had a population of 453....

. In 1887 he became Treasurer in Philip Fysh

Philip Fysh

Sir Philip Oakley Fysh, KCMG was an Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania and a member of the first federal ministry....

's ministry, serving until Fysh's defeat in 1892. He then served as Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)

The role of Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania is a title held by the leader of the largest minority party in the state lower house, the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He or she acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the government on the floor of parliament...

 until 1894 and then Speaker of the House of Assembly

Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly

The Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania. The role of Speaker has traditionally been a partisan office, filled by the governing party of the time....

 until December 1896. He was Treasurer again under Sir Elliott Lewis

Elliott Lewis

Sir Neil Elliott Lewis, KCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of Tasmania on three occasions. He was also a member of the first Australian federal ministry, led by Edmund Barton....

 from 1899 to 1903. From 1904 to 1909 he represented South Hobart. In 1909 he was elected to the upper house, the Legislative Council, and retired in 1923.

Bird was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours.