Biography

Born in Mount Blackwood, Victoria, he was educated at Grenville College in Ballarat

Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...

 before becoming a shopkeeper, farmer, and St Arnaud Town

Town of St Arnaud

The Town of St Arnaud was a Local Government Area located about northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The town covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1994. Its area was surrounded by the Shire of Kara Kara.-History:...

 Councillor. He was a notable community leader in the Wimmera

Wimmera

The Wimmera is a region in the west of the Australian state of Victoria.It covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Australia border and north of the Great Dividing Range...

 area. In 1896, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

, and was made an Honorary Minister in 1900. He resigned this position in 1901 in order to contest the first federal election, winning the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 seat of Wimmera

Division of Wimmera

The Division of Wimmera was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was named after the Wimmera region in which it was located. It originally encompassed the towns of Mildura, Swan Hill and Warracknabeal, but by the time it was abolished in 1977, it had drifted south and grown...

 for the Protectionist Party

Protectionist Party

The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...

. He held the seat until his retirement in 1906. Phillips died in 1914.