Obituaries Australia

THE HON. JAMES LORD, M.L.C. The intelligence conveyed by our Hobart telegram of the death yesterday morning of the hon. James Lord, aged 72, will not be received with surprise, as Mr Lord has been slowly sinking for some time past. The deceased gentleman was born in England in 1809, arrived at Hobart with his parents, Mr and Mrs David Lord, and his brother, Jno. Lord, on the 11th March, 1817, in the ship Harriet. Mr David Lord entered into business at Hobart as a general merchant, residing in Macquarie-street, and was one of the earliest directors of the Bank of Van Diemen's Land. The two boys, James and John, were a few years after their arrival sent back to England to complete their education, and after their return to the colony engaged in pastoral pursuits. Mr James Lord was placed in the Commission of the Peace by Sir Wm. Denison on 17th September, 1849, and was then residing at Quorn Hall, Campbell Town, which he then owned. He did not take any prominent part in public affairs until the general election of 1862, when he was elected member of the House of Assembly for Oatlands, in which, district he owns extensive properties, and upon the appeal to the country by the Whyte-Meredith Ministry in 1866 upon the proposed income tax he was again returned, and represented the constituency until the general election of 1871, when he retired and remained out of Parliament for some years. In April, 1876, however, on the retirement of the hon. Jas. Whyte, member for Pembroke in the Legislative Council, he contested the vacancy with the late Mr Jno. Mitchell, of Lisdillon, and was returned, and has since represented Pembroke to the time of his death. He was a silent and unobtrusive member, but was much liked and esteemed by men of all parties. In days gone by Mr Jas. Lord took a great interest in racing and sporting matters, being a prominent supporter of the turf, an excellent rider himself, and perhaps the best whip in the colony. More than twenty years ago he obtained and held for some five or six years the contract for the conveyance of mails between Hobart and Launceston, and his coaches were as well known as Page's subsequently became. His career on the turf was a long and honourable one, but it would require more space than we can afford to enumerate the victories achieved by his champions. He imported several useful horses to the colony, including the brood mare Esplanade (dam of Cotherstone and of Quickstep, the mother of two Melbourne Cup winners). Some years before, in conjunction with his brother-in-law, the late Jas. Cox, Esq., of Clarendon, he imported the Arab stallion Hadji Baba, a horse that greatly improved the equine stock of Tasmania.

Although, Mr Lord's decease, has not been unexpected, it will cause general regret amongst all those who knew him - and the circle is a wide one. He was personally popular and esteemed by all classes for his kindly, genial nature, and his integrity of character. He leaves a widow and a large family of sons and daughters. One of the former, John Carr Lord, Esq., is at present Warden of Oatlands, and another, Mr Jas. Lord, is a councillor. Several of his daughters are married to officers in the British army, and one, the youngest, to Mr Aubrey Weedon, of the L. and W. Railway department, Launceston. The deceased was a large landowner, and amongst his properties is the York Plains coal mine, so familiar to travellers on the Main Line Railway, which was opened by Mr Lord only a few years ago.

Death is indeed making sad havoc with our old colonists, whose numbers are rapidly diminishing. Within the past eighteen months alone we have had to record the obituary of, besides other respected old colonists, no less than four members of the sixteen who comprised the Legislative Council in 1879, viz., the Hons. W. D. Grubb, Sir James M. Wilson, T. W. Field, and James Lord.