Nicholas Fitzgerald

Who was Nicholas Fitzgerald?

Nicholas Fitzgerald was an Australian politician.

Born in Galway to Francis Fitzgerald and Eleanor Joyes, he attended Trinity College, Dublin from 1848 until he entered King's Inns in 1848 and Queen's College, Galway in 1849. After travelling in Ceylon and India he moved to Victoria in 1859 and established a family brewery at Castlemaine with his brother Edward. The business had soon expanded and Fitzgerald owned property in New South Wales and Queensland. He was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for North Western Province from 1864 to 1882 and for North Central Province 1882 to 1904, Southern Province 1904 to 1908.He also represented Victoria at the Federal Convention in Sydney in 1891 and the Colonial Conference of 1894 in Ottawa where he represented both Victoria and Tasmania. In 1863 he had married Marianne O'Shanassy, with whom he had seven sons. Fitzgerald died at St Kilda in 1908.