Frederick William Piesse

Who was Frederick William Piesse?

Frederick William Piesse was a member of the first Australian federal parliament.

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Piesse worked in law, conveyancing, shipping and horticulture before being elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as the Member for North Hobart in 1893 before representing the Tasmanian Legislative Council electorate of Buckingham in 1894. Piesse served as an Honorary Minister from 1899-1901.

He was elected as a Free Trader to the first federal Australian Parliament as one of the five members for Tasmania. His tenure as a federal parliamentarian would be short lived, however, as he died less than a year after his election. He was the first serving Tasmanian Member of the House of Representatives to die.