Robert Henry Solly was an Australian politician.

Born in Ramsgate, New South Wales

Ramsgate, New South Wales

Ramsgate is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ramsgate is located 16 km south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Ramsgate is in the local government area of the City of Rockdale...

, to Stephen Solly and Eliza Sage, he received no formal education and worked on a farm and a rope factory; he moved to Newcastle

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

 to work in the boot trade at the age of ten and travelled to South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 when he was seventeen. After a year in Adelaide he travelled back to New South Wales via Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, where he worked as a station hand. After another five-year stint in Adelaide (during which time, in 1873, he married Adelaide Mary Graham, with whom he had four children), he moved to Collingwood

Collingwood, Victoria

Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...

 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 and returned to bootmaking, becoming president of the Bootmakers Union. A founding member of the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

, he was a Richmond City Councillor

City of Richmond

The City of Richmond was a Local Government Area located about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994.-History:...

 from 1903 to 1909. In 1904 he 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:...

 as the Labor member for Railway Officers

Electoral district for Railway Officers

The Electoral district of Railway Officers was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.-Members of Railway Officers:-See also:*Parliaments of the Australian states and territories...

, resigning in 1906 to run for the 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....

. Having been unsuccessful, he returned to the Assembly via a by-election for the seat of Carlton and served until his death at Carlton

Carlton, Victoria

Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...

in 1932.