Frank Smith (New South Wales politician)
{{other people||Frank Smith (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Politician from New South Wales, Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Frank James Smith
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Frank James Smith.png
| alt =
| caption =
| constituency_MP = Balmain
| parliament = New South Wales
| majority =
| term_start = 5 Feb 1887
| term_end = 6 June 1891
| predecessor =
| successor =
| prior_term =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1852}}
| birth_place = England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1910|1|4|1852|df=y}}
| death_place = Woolwich
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| citizenship =
| nationality =
| party = Free Trade
| otherparty =
| spouse = Sarah Thursdon
(married c 1872)
| partner =
| relations =
| children = 1 daughter
| parents = Sarah Leicester
Lewis Francis Smith
| residence =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
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}}Frank James Smith (1852 – 4 January 1910) was an English-born Australian politician.
Early life
His parents were land speculator Lewis Francis Smith and Sarah Leicester. He arrived in Victoria around 1867, and then spent some time in Hobart. He worked as a printer's apprentice in Victoria and then moved to Balmain in Sydney around 1877. He trained as a solicitor, however he never practised. Around 1872 he married Sarah Thursdon, with whom he had a daughter.
Political career
In 1887 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a Free Trade member for Balmain. He was re-elected in 1889, but was defeated in 1891.{{Cite NSW election |title=Elections for the District of Balmain |year=DistrictIndexes |district=Balmain |access-date=22 September 2019}}
Criminal conviction
Smith was the managing director of the Australian Mercantile Loan and Guarantee Company from September 1889 until September 1890, and the company was placed into liquidation on 11 September 1891.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13859482 |title=The Australian Mercantile Loan and Guarantee Company Limited |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=16 July 1892 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=6 |via=Trove}} In February 1892 he was convicted of conspiracy to fraudulently misrepresent the financial affairs of the company,{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13847398 |title=The conspiracy case |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=26 February 1892 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=3 |via=Trove}} and was sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13857368 |title=At the Central Criminal Court |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=27 February 1892 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=9 |via=Trove}} Peter Howe, another member of the Legislative Assembly, was also a director of the company. In 1891 Howe had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the company and was also sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13850694 |title=The Howe-Miller conspiracy case |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=3 November 1891 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=3 |via=Trove}}
Smith was released from prison in June 1895 after serving 3 years.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130401993 |title=Release of the bank panic prisoners |newspaper=Sunday Times |date=24 February 1895 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=5 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108072540 |title=Bank prisoners: the three released men |newspaper=Evening News |date=25 February 1895 |access-date=25 April 2021 |page=6 |via=Trove}}
Later life
He attempted to return to politics, standing as an independent {{Australian politics/name|Free Trade}} candidate at the July 1895 election for Balmain North, but polled just 32 votes.{{cite NSW election |year=1895 |district=Balmain North |access-date=8 April 2020}}
Smith died at Woolwich on {{Death date and age|1910|1|4|1852|df=y}}.{{cite NSW Parliament |title=Mr Frank James Smith (1852-1910) |id=950 |former=Yes |access-date=22 May 2019 }}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-nsw-la}}
{{s-bef|before=Jacob Garrard |before2=John Hawthorne |before3=Solomon Hyam}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Balmain | years=1887–1891 |with=Jacob Garrard |with2=John Hawthorne |with3=none / George Clubb}}
{{s-aft|after=George Clark |after2=Edward Darnley |after3=James Johnston |after4=William Murphy}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Frank}}
Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Category:Free Trade Party politicians