Peter Finn
Peter Finn | |
---|---|
Victorian Parliament for Avoca | |
In office 25 July 1870 – 25 January 1871 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter Thomas Finn 1827/1828 Ireland |
Died | Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia | 1 April 1911
Spouse | Rosa Helen Finn (née Champ) |
Relations | Hugh Finn (brother) |
Profession | Barrister |
Peter Thomas Finn (1827/1828 – 1 April 1911) was a barrister in Victoria, Australia and Invercargill, New Zealand. For a short time, he was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the electorate of Avoca.
Biography
Finn was born in Ireland in either 1827 or 1828.
In 1859, he was admitted as a barrister to the Supreme Court of Victoria, practising in Melbourne and Ballarat. On 25 July 1870, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in a by-election following the resignation of James Macpherson Grant. He served from October 1870 until January 1871, when he was defeated by Grant at the 1871 election.[1] Finn had previously unsuccessfully stood for election in Avoca (1861). Subsequently, he was unsuccessful in Grenville (1871) and St Kilda (1872).[1]
Finn sailed to Invercargill in 1876 and had entered a law partnership with Richard Matthews by February 1877.[3] From 1880 until 1889, he was in partnership with Robert Henry Rattray.[4]
He married Rosa Helen Champ, daughter of Colonel Champ from Darra in Victoria, on 6 March 1878 at Invercargill.[1][5] She died on 13 June 1885, aged 37, and was buried at Invercargill's Saint John's Cemetery.[6]
Finn supported the election campaign of Patrick McCaughan, who successfully contested the 1879 election in the Riverton electorate,[7] and of Henry Feldwick, who was defeated in the Invercargill electorate.[8] He himself considered contesting the Wakatipu electorate in the Lake District, but stood back in favour of his brother,[9] who was successful.[10] He contested the 1881 election in the Hokonui electorate against Henry Driver and Cuthbert Cowan, in which Driver was elected and Finn came a distant last;[11] this marked the end of Finn's parliamentary ambitions in New Zealand, as he did not contest the subsequent elections in 1884 or 1887.[12][13]
Returning to Victoria in around 1890, he briefly practised law in Melbourne and Ballarat before moving to Geelong. His remaining years were spent in Meredith.[1] He died on 1 April 1911 at Fitzroy,[14] probably at St Vincent's Hospital. He was survived by one son who, at the time of Finn's death, lived in Perth.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Finn, Peter Thomas". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 1 July 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "Mr Peter T. Finn". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12446. 4 May 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Untitled". Southland Times. No. 2676. 6 February 1877. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Legal". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Otago & Southland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. 1905. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Marriage". Southland Times. No. 3026. 9 March 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Cemetery search". Invercargill City Council. Retrieved 3 July 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Riverton Election". Southland Times. No. 3489. 27 August 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Press Special Wire". The Press. Vol. XXXII, no. 4373. 6 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Untitled". Southland Times. No. 3471. 6 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- OCLC 154283103.
- ^ "Winton". Southland Times. No. 4202. 17 December 1881. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "The General Election, 1884". National Library. 1884. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ "The General Election, 1887". National Library. 1887. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Argus. 3 April 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ^ "Mr Peter T. Finn". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12446. 4 May 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2023.