Nathaniel Levi
Australian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nathaniel Levi (20 January 1830–1908) was a Jewish-Australian politician and businessman.
Nathaniel Levi | |
|---|---|
Nathaniel Levi, c. 1887 | |
| Born | 20 January 1830[1] |
| Died | 11 September 1908 (aged 78)[2] St Kilda, Victoria, Australia[2] |
| Occupation(s) | auctioneer, company director, distiller, politician |
| Spouse | Sarah nee Levy[3] |
| Legislative Assembly of Victoria representative for Maryborough | |
| In office 1860–1865 | |
| Legislative Assembly of Victoria representative for East Melbourne | |
| In office 1866–1868 | |
| Legislative Council of Victoria representative for North Yarra Province | |
| In office 1892–1904 | |
Biography
Levi was born in Liverpool, England on 20 January 1830.[4] He left England in December 1852,[4] and arrived at Hobson's Bay on 27 April 1854 on the Matilda Wattenbach.[4][1] He rented property on Collins and Queens Streets and worked as an auctioneer until 1858[4] when he joined a firm of "wine, spirit, and general merchants" called John Levy and Sons.[4]
In 1858, Levi ran for Parliament to represent the constituency of Maryborough but lost by 14 votes.[4] When Richard Davies Ireland was appointed Attorney-General, Levi contested the election for his vacant seat.[4] He became the first Jewish member of the Victorian Parliament when he was first elected in 1860.[4][5][6]
He represented the electorates of Maryborough for 5 years[4] before he became the representative for East Melbourne.[7] He later represented the electorate of North Yarra.[1]
In 1865, Levi opened a distillery in Footscray and started cultivating sugar and spirits from beetroot.[4][8]
Levi was prominent in the Jewish community, and was the president of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation[4] in 1880–82 and 1904–05,[1] and president of the Melbourne Hebrew School.[4]
Personal life
In 1855, Levy married John Levy's daughter, Sarah.[9][10] She died in 1864.[4][11]
Levi was the forebear of prominent rabbi, John Levi,[6] one of the founders of Melbourne's King David School.
References
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