Family background
John Thomas Percival Marsh was born in 1864 in Sheppey, Kent, England, the son of John Marsh and Catherine Marsh. His father John Marsh (1825-1907) was an engineering officer in the Royal Navy from 1841 to his retirement in 1870, and had moved to NSW in 1876, settling in Paddington with his family.
Marsh married Florence Edith Shaw (1857-1956) in Paddington in 1887. The pair had four children together, of which three lived to adulthood.
Marsh died at the age of 82 on 24 January 1941, at Moorong Hospital, Ryde. His funeral, conducted by Charles Kinsela funeral directors, was held at Waverley Cemetery on 25 January 1941.
Occupation & interests
In 1882 to 1884, John Marsh was employed by the NSW Department of Public Instruction as a student teacher in the Goulburn Superior Public School. In 1884, he passed his examinations for appointment as a full teacher and took a position as first assistant master at St John’s Parochial Church of England School, Darlinghurst.
From the 1890s he was variously employed as clerk. After later taking an appointment as assistant master at Crown Street Superior Public School, in 1930 he was appointed headmaster of St John’s Grammar School, Darlinghurst until his retirement in 1934.
Community activity
In 1903, John Marsh was appointed a justice of the peace. In 1911 he was appointed a member of the Paddington Sub-District Public School Board.
Marsh was a member of the Paddington Liberal League associated with the state Liberal Reform Party of Charles Wade and was president of the league in 1912.
Local government service
John Marsh was first elected an alderman of the Borough of Paddington (Glenmore Ward) on 28 January 1911. An advertisement for his election touted Marsh as among those ‘who advocate economy and are opposed to payment of aldermen’. He was re-elected in January 1914, June 1917, and January 1920.
When James Gosbell resigned as mayor part way through his term on 11 September 1916, Marsh was elected to complete Gosbell’s term serving until 6 July 1917, when he was succeeded by Michael Purcell.
Marsh lost his seat in the 1922 municipal election, when the Labor Party took control of the council, with the Labor ticket of Maurice O’Sullivan, Thomas Hodge and Albert Thwaites, unseating the three incumbent aldermen Marsh, Charles Cranes, and Albert Pointing, in Glenmore Ward.
In September 1924, it was reported that Marsh would be a candidate for the council seat of the Municipality of Vaucluse vacated by the death of Alderman Hartley Sargent. However, his name did not appear on the final list of candidates.
In December 1928, Marsh made one final attempt when he stood for election as an alderman of the Municipality of Vaucluse, but was unsuccessful, placing 11th for the 9-member council.
References
Compiled and researched by Andrew Beveridge, 2024
The information about this alderman was compiled in collaboration with Woollahra Library and Information Service.
‘Deaths; Funerals’, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 January 1941, p. 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17718020
‘Alderman John T. P. Marsh’, The Sun, 10 October 1912, p. 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228849983
‘Advertising’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 January 1911, p. 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15237221
‘Advertising. Municipal Elections. Municipality of Paddington’, Sydney Morning Herald,31 January 1911, p. 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15208722
‘The Polling. Municipal Elections. Apathetic Electors’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1914, p. 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15473283
‘Municipal Elections. Municipality of Paddington’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 July 1917, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15757118
‘Municipal Elections. Municipality of Paddington’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1920, p. 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15885090
‘Personal’, The Daily Telegraph,12 September 1916, p. 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239217103
‘Municipal Elections – Paddington’, Sunday Times, 3 December 1922, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128209493
‘Paddington All Labor’, The Sun, 4 December 1922, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224159977
‘News From All Quarters’, Evening News, 30 September 1924, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119962662
‘Municipal Elections. Municipality of Vaucluse’, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 1928, p. 16, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16514134