George Kerferd

{{Infobox officeholder | name =George Briscoe Kerferd

| nationality =Australian

| order =10th Premier of Victoria

| term_start =31 July 1874

| term_end =7 August 1875

| predecessor =James Francis

| successor =Graham Berry

| deputy =

| image =Georgekerferd.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date ={{Birth date|1831|01|21|df=yes}}

| birth_place =Liverpool, Lancashire, England

| death_date ={{death date and age|1889|12|31|1831|1|21|df=y}}

| death_place =Sorrento, Victoria, Australia

| resting_place =St Kilda Cemetery

| constituency =

| party =

| spouse = {{Marriage|Ann Martindale|1853}}

| profession =

| signature =

| footnotes =

}}

George Briscoe Kerferd (21 January 1831 – 31 December 1889), Australian colonial politician, was the 10th Premier of Victoria.

Early life and education

George Briscoe Kerferd was born in Liverpool, England, the son of G. B. Kerferd, a merchant{{cite web |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogI-K.html#kerferd1 |title=Kerferd, George Briscoe |access-date=2013-04-17 |author=Percival Serle

|author-link=Percival Serle |work=Dictionary of Australian Biography |publisher=Angus & Robertson |year=1949}} (or Joseph Kerferd, a bookkeeper, and his wife Rachel, née Blundell){{Australian Dictionary of Biography|first=Margot |last=Beever

|title=Kerferd, George Briscoe (1831–1889)|id2=kerferd-george-briscoe-3947|accessdate=17 April 2013}}

Kerferd was educated at the Collegiate Institute in Liverpool, with the intention of studying law; however, circumstances led him to enter his father's business.

Career

Kerferd emigrated to Victoria in 1853 with plans to open a branch of the family business, but this did not eventuate. After trying his luck as a gold miner at Bendigo, he settled in Beechworth[http://www.beechworth.com.au/georgebiscoekerferd.htm George Biscoe Kerferd] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824154016/http://beechworth.com.au/georgebiscoekerferd.htm |date=24 August 2006 }} at beechworth.com.au and became a brewer and wine merchant. He was mayor of Beechworth 1863-64 and three other occasions.

File:Grave of George Briscoe Kerferd (1831–1889) at St Kilda Cemetery.jpg

Kerferd was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Ovens in November 1864, and represented the area continuously until February 1886.{{cite re-member |num2 = 612 |name = Kerferd, GeorgeBriscoe

|accessdate=17 April 2013}} He began studying law in 1864 and was Minister of Mines and Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works in the government of James McCulloch 1868, and Solicitor-General 1872–1874,{{Gazette VIC |year=1872 |page=1125 |title=Appointment Solicitor-General George Kerford MLA |date=10 June 1872}} and Attorney-General in 1874 in the government of James Francis. When the Francis government was defeated in July 1874, Kerferd succeeded him at the head of a new conservative ministry.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

Kerferd's Treasurer, James Service, was, like most colonial conservatives, a convinced free trader, and the government's 1875 budget proposed repealing the tariffs imposed by Charles Gavan Duffy's liberal government, and replacing the lost revenue with a land tax and a tax on beer and spirits. But this offended both the landowners and the business community, and Kerferd's government was defeated in August 1875.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

Kerferd was again appointed as Attorney-General in later conservative governments (1875–1877, 1880 and 1883–86, in the Service government). In 1883 Kerferd was a Victorian representative to the federal convention. In 1886, he quit politics and on 1 January 1886 was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria. The appointment was not without controversy as several barristers had served longer in the legal profession, but Kerferd had eight years as attorney-general. There was general agreement that Kerferd filled his role as judge with great ability. Kerferd served as a judge until his death.

Personal life

In 1853 he married Ann Martindale, with whom he had ten children.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

Death and legacy

Kerford died in 1889 while on a holiday at Sorrento, Victoria.

Kerferd Road in Albert Park is named after him, as is Kerferd Road, later Avenue, in Sorrento.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

{{anchor|oration}}The Kerford Oration has been held in Beechworth each year since 2003, the 150th anniversary of the naming of Beechworth. It is a free community event, sponsored by Indigo Shire, La Trobe University, and commercial sponsors.{{cite web | title=About the Kerferd Oration | website=The Kerferd Oration | date=20 July 2014 | url=https://kerferdoration.org/about/ | access-date=4 August 2024}}

References

=Sources=

Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900-84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856-1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856-1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992

External links

[http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au Supreme Court of Victoria Website]

{{s-ttl|title=Member for Ovens|years=1864–1886 |with=George Verney Smith (1864–1877) |with2=George Billson (1877–1880) |with3= William Zincke (1880–1883) |with4=George Billson (1883–1886) }}