Jabez Wright

Jabez Wright (25 April 1852 – 10 September 1922) was an English-born Australian politician.

Jabez Wright
14th Mayor of Broken Hill
In office 16 February 1900 – 14 February 1901
Preceded by	John Dunstan
Succeeded by	William John Retallick
Alderman of the Municipality of Broken Hill
In office 1896–1902
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Willyama
In office 6 December 1913 – 18 February 1920
Preceded by	New Seat
Succeeded by	Seat Abolished
Personal details
Born	(1852-03-25)25 March 1852 Greenwich, England
Died	10 September 1922(1922-09-10) (aged 70) Bondi, New South Wales
Resting place	Waverley Cemetery
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse	Honora Kearney
Children	4
Occupation	Carpenter, Undertaker

Wright was born at Greenwich in England, the son of Jabez Gladstone Wright. He worked in North and South America before moving to South Australia, eventually settling in Broken Hill around 1888. On 15 January 1878 Wright had married Honora Kearney, with whom he had four children. He worked as a carpenter and then as an undertaker, and was a member of the Australian Workers' Union. From 1896 to 1902 Wright was an alderman at Broken Hill. He rose to be mayor from 1900 to 1901, the first Labor Mayor in the world.^[1][2] He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1913 as the Labor member for Willyama. With the introduction of proportional representation in 1920 Wright was defeated running for Sturt, but filled the vacancy caused by the murder of Percy Brookfield in 1921. Wright himself caused a vacancy a year later when he died at Bondi.^[3]

References

1. "MUNICIPALITY OF BROKEN HILL". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 200. New South Wales, Australia. 6 March 1900. p. 1900. Retrieved 15 September 2018 – via Trove.
2. "Broken-hearted spurn Labor for a rebel with a cause". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 March 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
3. "Mr Jabez Wright (1852–1922)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

 

Civic offices
Preceded by John Dunstan	Mayor of Broken Hill 1900 – 1901	Succeeded by William John Retallick
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New district	Member for Willyama 1913 – 1920	District abolished
Preceded by Percy Brookfield	Member for Sturt 1921 – 1922 Served alongside: Davidson, Doe	Succeeded by Ted Horsington