- Samuel Gillott
Infobox_Officeholder |
honorific-prefix =
name= Sir Samuel Gillott
honorific-suffix=
caption=
nationality=Australian
order=47thMayor of Melbourne
term_start=1900
term_end=1902
deputy =
predecessor=SirMalcolm Donald McEacharn
order2=48thLord Mayor of Melbourne
term_start2=1902
term_end2=1903
deputy2 =
successor2= SirMalcolm Donald McEacharn
birth_date=Birth date|1838|10|29|df=yes
birth_place=Sheffield ,United Kingdom
death_date=Death date and age|1913|6|29|1838|10|29|df=yes
death_place=Sheffield ,United Kingdom
spouse=
party=Sir Samuel Gillott (
October 29 ,1838 –June 29 ,1913 ) was aAustralia n lawyer and politician, commonly known as a formerLord Mayor of Melbourne .Early life
Gillott was born in the city of
Sheffield , in the county ofSouth Yorkshire ,England , the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Gillott.cite book|last=Dunstan|first=David|year=1983|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Melbourne University Press|edition=Volume 9|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/|chapter= Gillott, Sir Samuel (1838 - 1913)| chapterurl=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090014b.htm] Educated inSheffield Grammar School , Gillott moved toMelbourne , Australia at the age of 18, in 1856. He was employed by a law firm, Vaughan, Moule & Seddon, and received his law degree from theUniversity of Melbourne . Immediately after he started practicing law, Vaughan, Moule & Seddon offered him apartnership . During the 1890s, Gillott specialized inpolice court practice, with a firm exception being the Speight v. Syme libel case.Politics
Gillott was elected as Mayor of Melbourne in 1896, but lost his mayorship in 1899 by one vote. In November 1899, Gillott was elected to the seat of East Melbourne, in the
Legislative Assembly . He became President of theLaw Institute in 1900. In the same year, Gillott was re-elected as the Mayor of Melbourne. Promoted toLord Mayor in 1901, Gillott was knighted in the same year. In 1901, under the state ministry of SirGeorge Turner , Gillott was given the role of Honorary Minister. After the Turner Government's fall that year, he stayed on the ministry, becomingAttorney General . In 1904, under the premiership of SirThomas Bent , Gillott became theChief Secretary and theMinister for Labour .In May 1906, controversy arose for Gillott when a demagogue reformer,
William Judkins , held him responsible forillegal gambling . As proof, Judkins namedJohn Wren 's illegal betting schemes, which he held as evidence of a corrupt government. As a result of the controversial issue, Thomas Bent agreed to prohibit off-course betting. Later that year, Gillott introduced the gaming suppression bill. Following the gambling controversy, John Norton's newspaper, "The Truth", published an article on Gillot, supposedly linking him to a well knownbrothel proprietor,Caroline Hodgson , and financial dealings with her since 1877. Resigning from parliament and the ministry after these allegations, Gillott returned to England, where he stayed for almost a year.Returning to Australia after a year in England, he resumed his seat in the Melbourne City Council, and became President and Councillor of the
Working Men's College . In another visit to England in 1913, Gillott died after falling down a flight of stairs at night in Sheffield. He was buried in a Melbourne cemetery, dying at the age of 74.Footnotes
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