Simon Fraser (Australian politician)
| Sir Simon Fraser | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Senator for Victoria | |
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In office 29 March 1901 – 30 June 1913 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 August 1832 Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | 30 July 1919 (aged 86) Melbourne, Australia |
| Nationality | Canadian Australian |
| Political party |
Protectionist (1901–06) Anti-Socialist (1906–09) Liberal (1909–13) |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Bolger (1865–80) Anne Collins (1885–1919) |
| Relations | Malcolm Fraser (grandson) |
| Children | 2 daughter, 3 sons |
| Occupation | Contractor, grazier |
Sir Simon Fraser (21 August 1832 – 30 July 1919) was a Canadian-Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Senate.
Fraser was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of a Scottish timber miller and farmer. When he was 21, in 1852, he emigrated to the goldfields of Victoria in search of his fortune. After a time prospecting in Bendigo, he became a contractor, soon moving into railways and becoming, by the 1870s, a wealthy man.
One of his more notable contracts was to supply ballast to the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company, a privately owned railway which connected Moama on the Murray River to Deniliquin in southern New South Wales. Instead of supplying blue metal, Fraser supplied quartz from the slag heaps of Bendigo gold mines. It met the specifications of the contract, but was not what was expected by the owners of the railway.
Fraser bought extensive estates in the Western District of Victoria and became a leader of the wealthy wool-growing class known as squatters. He was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the seat of Rodney in 1876, which he held until 1883. In 1886, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council, the traditional preserve of the squatters, representing South Yarra Province, and remained a member until 1901. He was a Minister without Portfolio from 1890 to 1892. He was a Victorian delegate to the 1894 Colonial Conference in Ottawa, and a member of the Constitutional Convention which drafted the Australian Constitution.
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