Edmund Lonsdale was an 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 politician. Born in Morpeth, New South Wales

Morpeth, New South Wales

Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...

, he was schooled in Maitland

Maitland, New South Wales

Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...

 before becoming a bricklayer, builder and contractor. He was also an alderman on Armidale Shire Council. In 1891 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 as the member for New England

Electoral district of New England

New England was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1859 in the New England region, partly replacing New England and Macleay. It elected two members from 1880 to 1891 and three members from 1891 to 1894...

, serving until 1894; he was elected to Armidale

Electoral district of Armidale

Armidale was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894, partly replacing New England, and named after and including Armidale. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Northern...

 in 1895, serving until 1898. In 1901 he was the unsuccessful Free Trade Party

Free Trade Party

The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...

 candidate for the federal seat of New England

Division of New England

The Division of New England is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the north-east of the state, adjoining the border with Queensland. It includes such towns as Armidale, Ashford, Barraba, Bingara, Bundarra, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Guyra, Inverell,...

, after which he returned to the Legislative Assembly, again as the member for Armidale. In 1903 he was again the candidate for the federal New England seat, and was successful. He held the seat until his defeat in 1906, after which he returned to state politics, being re-elected to Armidale in 1907. He continued in that position until his death in 1913.