Josiah Henry Symon QC K.C.M.G (1846 - 1934)

Born 27 Sep 1846 in Wick, Caithness, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Eleanor (Cowle) Symon — married 8 Dec 1881 in St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 29 Mar 1934 at age 87 in North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

Josiah Symon QC K.C.M.G is Notable.

Josiah Symon QC K.C.M.G came free to the Colony of South Australia (1836-1900)

Sir Josiah Henry Symon KCMG (27 September 1846 – 29 March 1934), Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, was a member of the Australian Senate in the First Australian Parliament, and an Attorney-General of Australia.

In the early years of the Australian Parliament Sir Josiah Henry Symon was a Senator for South Australia (1901 to 1913) and Attorney-General of Australia (1904 to 1905)

Symon was born in Wick, Caithness, Scotland a son of James Symon, cabinetmaker, and his wife Elizabeth, née Sutherland. In 1866 he emigrated to the South Australia Colony and was employed as an articled clerk with his cousin, J. D. Sutherland, a solicitor in the city of Mount Gambier. He later became one of the Colonies leading barristers and was appointed Attorney-General of South Australia in 1881 from outside of the Colony's parliament.

In 1881 Symon was also made a Queen's Counsel, and on the 8th of December of that year he married Mary Cowle at St Peter's Anglican Cathedral in Adelaide.

A prominent member of the 1897-98 Australasian Federal Convention, he chaired its judiciary committee. Colonial premiers and Edmund Barton apart, no one spoke more often than Symon and few were listened to with more care. And in January 1901 as the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed Symon was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (K.C.M.G.) for services to the cause of Federation.

Sir Josiah Henry Symon KCMG died on 29 March 1934 in North Adelaide, survived by his wife, five sons and five daughters. Given a state funeral, he is buried in the North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth in South Australia.

Sources

• South Australian Births, Deaths & Marriages: Marriage Registration no. 129/1048 1881.

• South Australian Births, Deaths & Marriages: Death Registration no. 557/1265 1934

• Josiah Symon from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. first accessed online on the 24th of January 2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Symon

• Don Wright, Symon, Sir Josiah Henry (1846–1934), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/symon-sir-josiah-henry-8734/text15293, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 24 January 2021

• SYMON, SIR JOSIAH HENRY (1846–1934) - SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 1901–13 (FREE TRADE; ANTI-SOCIALIST PARTY). from the The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. first accessed online on the 24th of January 2021 at: http://biography.senate.gov.au/josiah-henry-symon/

• THE MORAL ASPECTS OF FEDERATION from The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) of Wednesday 9 February 1898, Page 9. first accessed online on the 24th of January 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/238364746?

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155542413/josiah-henry-symon : accessed 24 January 2021), memorial page for Sir Josiah Henry Symon (27 Sep 1846–29 Mar 1934), Find a Grave Memorial no. 155542413, citing North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, Prospect City, South Australia, Australia ; Maintained by nettlyne (contributor 47486944) .

• Inscription 9735277 - Josiah Henry Symon from the Australian Cemeteries index. first accessed online on the 24th of January 2021 at: https://austcemindex.com/inscription?id=9735277 (stating burial at West Terrace Cemetery)

• Symon, Sir Josiah Henry (1846–1934), Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/symon-sir-josiah-henry-8734/text25910, accessed 24 January 2021.

• Studio portrait of Sir Josiah Henry Symon, Barrister, taken by Steffens-Colmer of Vancouver, B.C. [Canada]. as hosted on the State Library of South Australia website. first accessed online on the 24th of January 2021 at: https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+44232