Family background
Robert William Usher was born in 1855 in Newcastle, NSW, the son of English immigrants John Usher and Mary Weddell. The Ushers were originally from County Durham in northern England and emigrated to Victoria in 1852 during the gold rush.
John Usher was a mining engineer and surveyor who in 1886 was appointed to the Royal Commission established to investigate accidents at the Ferndale Colliery and colliery conditions in the District of Newcastle. John Usher died in 1888 at his residence at 70 Gowrie Street, Newtown, aged 58.
Robert Usher married Christina Isabel Young (1858-1938) in Paddington in 1877. The pair had 11 children together, of which 8 lived to adulthood.
Having moved to Western Australia after leaving public office, Usher died at the age of 60 on 31 December 1915, at Perth Public Hospital. His funeral, conducted by Bowra and O’Dea undertakers, was held at Karrakatta Church of Christ Cemetery on 2 January 1916.
Occupation & interests
Robert Usher was educated at the Melbourne Model School. In 1869, he passed his examinations and was admitted as a clerk in the Victorian Lands and Agricultural Department.
From the mid-1870s, he moved to Paddington, NSW, and from 18 October 1876 was employed as clerk in the NSW Surveyor-General’s Department, and was involved in surveying the proposed Cootamundra to Gundagai railway line, which was completed in 1885.
From 1887, Usher worked as a clerk in the NSW Department of Lands, rising to become assistant examiner of accounts. He retired from the public service in 1896, and later worked as an auctioneer and estate agent.
Community activity
Robert Usher was a member of the Woollahra Literary Institute, Paddington District Cricket Club, the Paddington Baseball Club and the Paddington Chess Club.
Usher was also involved in rugby union football as a member of the Paddington and Woollahra clubs. He was captain of the Woollahra Football Club in 1878. Usher was also an early member of the Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club following its establishment in Paddington in 1900.
In the years leading up to the Federation of Australia, Usher aligned himself with the protectionist movement and was vice-president of the Paddington Protection League in 1898.
Usher stood as an independent candidate for the NSW Legislative Assembly District of Paddington at the 1901 state election held on 3 July. He was defeated by fellow alderman and Liberal Reform Party candidate, Charles Oakes, coming third with 459 votes (19.86%).
Usher stood again as an independent for the NSW Legislative Assembly District of Woollahra at the 1904 state election held on 6 August. He was again defeated by the Liberal Reform party candidate, William Latimer, coming second with 776 votes (25.46%).
At the 10 September 1907 state election, this time with Labor Party endorsement, Usher stood against Latimer in the seat of Woollahra for the second time. He was again unsuccessful, coming a distant second with 1,306 votes (29.83%).
Local government service
Robert Usher was first elected as an auditor of the borough of Paddington at the February 1888 election. Under the 1858 Municipalities Act, two auditors were required to be elected annually alongside the aldermen to oversee and report on the municipal accounts. He was re-elected to this position in February 1889, February 1890 and February 1891.
Usher was first elected as an alderman of Paddington Council on 2 February 1892, when he stood unopposed for a seat on Glenmore Ward vacated by Dugald McIntyre. He was re-elected to this position in February 1895, February 1898 and February 1901 (unopposed).
On 14 February 1901, Usher was elected for a single term as mayor of Paddington, defeating alderman George Walker seven votes to three. On his election as mayor, an article in The Australian Star commented: “His influence in the council has always been for good order and beneficial work, and his opinion on matters which crop up is invariably received with respect, if it is not always acted upon.”
Usher resigned as an alderman on 12 January 1903, with the vacancy in Glenmore Ward filled at the February 1903 elections by Austin James Kenny.
References
Compiled and researched by Andrew Beveridge, 2024
The information about this alderman was compiled in collaboration with Woollahra Library and Information Service.
‘Mr. R. W. Usher’, The Australian Star, 8 March 1901, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228511575
‘The Late Mr. John Usher’, Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 30 May 1888 p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135913400
‘Obituary. Mr. John Usher’, Australian Town and Country Journal, 2 June 1888, p. 43, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71098181
‘Family Notices’, The West Australian, 1 January 1916, p. 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26967495
‘Deaths’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 January 1916, p. 6, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15634905
‘The Civil Service List of 1885’, New South Wales Government Gazette, 31 March 1885, p. 2224, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221637735
Green, Antony, ‘1901 Paddington’, New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007, Parliament of New South Wales, https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/electionresults18562007/1901/Paddington.htm
Green, Antony, ‘1904 Woollahra’, New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007, Parliament of New South Wales, https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/electionresults18562007/1904/Woollahra.htm
Green, Antony, ‘1907 Woollahra’, New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007, Parliament of New South Wales, https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/electionresults18562007/1907/Woollahra.htm
‘Borough of Paddington’, New South Wales Government Gazette, 21 February 1888, No. 123, p. 1402, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219939537
‘Personal’, The Daily Telegraph, 13 January 1903, p. 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237409774
‘Municipal Elections. Borough of Paddington’, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 1892, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13871297
‘Mayoral Elections’, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 1901, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14341185
‘Borough of Paddington’, New South Wales Government Gazette, 19 February 1901, No. 135, p. 1317, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226375853