Richard Hartley Smith Abbott (1859 – 28 February 1940) 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 Bendigo

Bendigo, Victoria

Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...

, Victoria, he was educated at Bendigo High School and then at the University of St Andrews

University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. He became a businessman, especially in tanning, building societies and gas companies. He served on Strathfieldsaye Council, and in 1907 was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

, serving until 1913. Having served as Mayor of Bendigo City Council

City of Bendigo

The City of Bendigo was a Local Government Area which covered the central area and inner western suburbs of the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia...

 in 1917, he returned to the Council 1922-1928 for the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

.

On 18 October 1928, he was appointed to the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 to fill the remainder of Victorian Country Party Senator David Andrew

David Andrew

David Andrew was an Australian politician. Born in Castlemaine, Victoria, he was educated at state schools before becoming an apprentice civil engineer. Later he was an auctioneer in Bendigo. He was elected to Bendigo City Council, and served as mayor in 1909, 1913 and 1920...

's term (Andrew had chosen not to contest the 1928 election

Australian federal election, 1928

Federal elections were held in Australia on 17 November 1928. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...

, but had died before his term expired). Thus Abbott served until the expiry of Andrew's term on 30 June 1929. He became a businessman, and died in 1940.