George Kerferd, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetGeorge Kerferd
Australian politician
Date of Birth: 21-Jan-1831
Place of Birth: Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Date of Death: 31-Dec-1889
Profession: politician
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius 
About George Kerferd
- George Briscoe Kerferd (21 January 1831 â 31 December 1889), Australian colonial politician, was the 10th Premier of Victoria. Kerferd was born in Liverpool, the son of G.
- B.
- Kerferd, a merchant (or Joseph Kerferd, a bookkeeper, and his wife Rachel, nÊe Blundell) Kerferd was educated at the Collegiate Institute, Liverpool, with intentions of studying law; however circumstances led him to enter his father's business.
- 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 and became a brewer and wine merchant.
- He was mayor of Beechworth 1863-64 and three other occasions.
- In 1853 he married Ann Martindale, with whom he had ten children.
- Kerferd was admitted to the Melbourne bar in 1867 but did not practise as a lawyer. Kerferd was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Ovens in November 1864, and represented the area continuously until February 1886.
- He began studying law in 1864 and was Minister for Mines and Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works in the government of James McCulloch 1868, and Solicitor-General 1872-1874, 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. 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. Kerferd was again appointed as Attorney-General in later conservative governments (1875â1877, 1880 and 1883â86, 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 in 1889 while on a holiday at Sorrento, Victoria.Kerferd Road in Albert Park is named after him. Kerferd Road, later Avenue, in Sorrento is also named after him.
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