Alexander Peacock

Who was Alexander Peacock?

Sir Alexander James Peacock, KCMG, Australian politician, was the 20th Premier of Victoria.

Peacock was born of Scottish descent at Creswick, the first Victorian Premier born after the gold rush of the 1850s and the attainment of self-government in Victoria. He was distantly related to the family of the politician Andrew Peacock. Educated at a local school, Peacock passed the Victorian civil service examination at 13 years of age, becoming briefly a school teacher and a clerk in Melbourne. Returning to Creswick, he worked as a mine manager, establishing his own business and buying several gold mines. He was prominent in the Australian Natives' Association and the movement for Australian federation in the 1880s and '90s.