John Henry Kessell (1870 - 15 November 1933) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[1]

John Kessell
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Port Curtis
In office
26 October 1912 – 22 May 1915
Preceded byEdward Breslin
Succeeded byGeorge Carter
Personal details
Born
John Henry Kessell

1870
Kadina, South Australia, Australia
Died15 November 1933 (aged 62-63)
Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia
Resting placeField of Mars Cemetery
Political partyMinisterialist
SpouseSarah Rosetta Watt (m.1905)
OccupationJournalist

Biography

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Kessell was born at Kadina, South Australia, the son of John Kessell and his wife Elizabeth (née Williams). He was educated in Bathurst and was a proprietor of the Gladstone Observer newspaper and the chairman director of the Mt. Morgan Co.[1]

He married Sarah Rosetta Watt on 2 August 1905 in Brisbane and together had one daughter. Kessell died at the Lewisham Private Hospital,[2] New South Wales, and his funeral proceeded from the Ashfield Methodist Church to the Field of Mars Cemetery.[3]

Public life

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Kessell, representing the Ministerialists, contested the seat of Port Curtis at the 1912 state election but lost by two votes to Edward Breslin.[4] The election of Breslin was later declared null and void by Justice Charles Chubb, the elections judge of the Queensland Supreme Court[5] and Kessell won the resulting by-election in October 1912.[4] At the 1915 state election he lost the seat to George Carter.[6]

He was president of the Australian Provincial Press Association and president of the Queensland Country Press Association.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 913. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 913. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "KESSELL LEADING". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 096. Queensland, Australia. 28 October 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Port Curtis Election PetitionHansard. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  6. ^ "CONTESTED SEATS". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 896. Queensland, Australia. 26 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Port Curtis
1912–1915
Succeeded by