John William Evans (politician)

Sir John William Evans

Sir John William Evans CMG (born December 1, 1855 in Liverpool , England , † October 2, 1943 in Hobart , Tasmania ) was an Australian politician and Prime Minister of Tasmania from 1904 to 1909.

Evans was born in Liverpool , England in 1855 . In 1859 the family moved to Battery Point, Hobart. Around 1873 Evans hired the Helen , a barque whose father was a co-owner, which mainly sailed trade routes to China and Japan . He later served as second mate on the Wynaud and the Harriet McGregor . In 1882 the Tasman under his command wrecked . On October 20, 1883 he married Emily Mary Harcourt († 1941), the daughter of the former mayor of Hobart James Harcourt. After a second ship was lost in 1886, Evans retired from seafaring and worked in the hardware trade with his father-in- law.

In 1897 Evans was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the first time , a member of which he remained until 1937. On July 12, 1904, he was appointed Premier of Tasmania. He held this office until June 19, 1909.

In 1906 he was accepted as a Companion in the Order of St Michael and St George . On April 1, 1926 he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir").

In 1934 he published his autobiography The Life Story of Sir John Evans KB, CMG

literature

• WA Townsley: Evans, Sir John William (1855-1943) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 8. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1981, ISBN 0-522-84219-4 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ^ The London Gazette : No. 33148, p. 2429. April 6, 1926.