John Cockburn
Sir John Cockburn (1850-1930)
1930 Obituary [1]
Sir JOHN COCKBURN, K.C.M.G., died on November 26, 1929, at the age of seventy-nine.
Born in 1850 at Corsbie, near Duns, N.B., he was educated at Cholmeley School, Highgate, and King's College, London, of which he became a Fellow.
In 1875 he settled in South Australia; he was intimately associated with the development of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co., of which he became chairman.
He also took an active part in public and political affairs. He was Mayor of Jamestown for three and a half years; he was a member of the House of Assembly for Burra in 1884, for Mount Baker in 1887, Minister of Education from 1885 to 1887, Premier and Chief Secretary from 1889 to 1890, Chief Secretary in 1892, and Minister of Education and Agriculture from 1893 to 1898; he was Agent-General for South Australia till 1901. He represented South Australia at innumerable international congresses.
Later, when his duties brought him back to England, he continued his public activities. He was vice-chairman of the Council of the London School of Economics, and chairman of the representative managers of the L.C.C. Elementary Schools from 1908 to 1912. He was created a K.C.M.G. in 1900; he was a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, and was a Member of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
He became a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1916.