Frederick Illingworth

Frederick Illingworth

Frederick Illingworth (24 September 1844 – 8 September 1908), was an Australian politician, who was a Member of Parliament in two Australian colonies (later states), and a government minister in Western Australia. As a financer of land speculation in Victoria in the 1880s, he was heavily involved in the Victorian land boom.

Early life

Frederick Illingworth was born in Little Horton, now part of Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 24 September 1844. The son of a woolcomber, at the age of four he emigrated to Victoria, with his family. As a young man he worked as an ironmonger at Brighton, Melbourne, and he later acquired pastoral land at Yalook. On 5 September 1867, he married Elizabeth Tarry, with whom he had one son and one daughter. In the late 1870s, he partnered with J. R. Hoskins to form an estate agency, but the business failed. In 1883, he returned to ironmongery, establishing an electroplating business in Melbourne.

Victorian Land Boom

In 1888, Illingworth founded and became the major share holder in the Centennial Land Bank, a land bank formed to finance speculation on real estate during the Victorian Land Boom, an economic bubble that began in the early 1880s. The boom peaked around 1888, followed by a devastating crash. Nearly every land company went into liquidation, and Illingworth was left a huge debt totalling £300,000. Having been elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for Northern Province in July 1889, Illingworth was granted leave of absence from parliament in 1890 for "a business trip to Europe", but left the ship in Perth, Western Australia, and his seat was declared vacant in the following year, for non-attendance.

In Western Australia

In Western Australia, Illingworth established himself as a land and estate agent, and invested in a number of mines in the Murchison district. On 5 July 1894, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in the seat of Nannine. He held the seat until its abolition at the election of May 1897, when he won the seat of Central Murchison. That in turn was abolished at the election of 24 April 1901, so Illingworth contested and won the seat of Cue. Defeated for Cue by Edward Heitmann in the election of 27 June 1904, he successfully contested the seat of West Perth on 27 October 1905, holding it until his resignation on 13 August 1907.

Illingworth initially sat in parliament in opposition to John Forrest's government. From August 1900 until May 1901, he was Leader of the Opposition, and was accordingly called upon to form a government when Forrest's successor George Throssell resigned as premier in May 1901. He was unable to do so, however, because George Leake refused to serve under him, and the other oppositionists would not serve without Leake. Eventually, an agreement was reached whereby Leake became Premier and Illingworth became Colonial Treasurer and Colonial Secretary. He held those portfolios throughout the term of the First Leake Ministry, and was reappointed to the positions in the Second Leake Ministry. Following Leake's death in June 1902, Illingworth was not included in the ministry of Leake's successor Walter James. He was Chairman of Committees from 3 December 1903 to 27 June 1904, and again from 30 November 1905, until his resignation.

Illingworth had married Jane McGregor at Adelaide, South Australia on 18 November 1896. They had no children. Illingworth's creditors released him from his financial obligations in 1903, and the Government of Western Australia then granted him £1000 as compensation for the financial proceedings taken against him in Victoria. After his resignation from the Legislative Assembly in August 1907, he returned to Victoria. He died at Brighton, Victoria on 8 September 1908, and was buried in Melbourne Cemetery.

See also

• Illingworth v Houldsworth
• Alfred Illingworth

Further reading

• Black, David; Bolton, Geoffrey (2001). Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia, Volume One, 1870–1930 (Revised ed.). Parliament House: Parliament of Western Australia. ISBN 0730738140.
• de Garis, Brian (1991). "Self-Government and Political Parties". In Black, David (ed.). The House on the Hill: A History of the Parliament of Western Australia 1832–1990. Perth, Western Australia: Parliament of Western Australia. ISBN 0-7309-3983-9.
• Kimberly, W.B. (compiler) (1897). History of West Australia. A Narrative of her Past. Together With Biographies of Her Leading Men. Melbourne: F.W. Niven.