Jacob Fotheringham (19 October 1865 – 20 June 1924) was an Australian politician. He was a liberal member of theVictorian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1902, representing the electorate ofFootscray.[1]
Fotheringham was born inSebastopol, nearBallarat, and moved toFootscray with his family at the age of seven. He was educated at Hyde Street State School and Carlton College before leaving school at the age of 14. He worked for the firms of Patterson, Laing and Bruce and then Brooks, McGlashan and McClarg, rising through the ranks of the latter, and listed his profession as "salesman" at the time of his election. He held a series of prominent sporting roles: treasurer of theFootscray Football Club, secretary of the Footscray Rowing Club and secretary of theVictorian Football Association, and was heavily involved in the local branches of theAustralian Natives Association.[1][2][3]
Fotheringham was elected to the Legislative Assembly at a1901 by-election for the seat of Footscray followingSamuel Mauger's resignation to enter the inaugural federal parliament, winning by only 45 votes.[4][5][6] During the campaign, he had declared that he was a "thorough protectionist", supported reform of the state parliament in light ofFederation, opposed rural malapportionment of parliamentary seats, supported women's suffrage, and advocated for uniform national factory legislation.[7] However, several months later, he moved toSydney for business interests, and belatedly resigned his seat in May 1902 following criticism for not having done so sooner given that he had permanently moved out of the state.[8][9][10]
Following his resignation, Fotheringham managed the millinery department for Sydney softgoods business W & A McArthur Ltd, and later became the firm's resident buyer inLondon. On 25 February 1917, he was on board theCunard linerLaconia when it was torpedoed byGerman forces off the coast ofIreland duringWorld War I with many fatalities. He was rescued after ten hours in a lifeboat, and was widely interviewed (including by theNew York Times) about the horrors of the sinking. He contractedtuberculosis following the incident, which negatively affected his health for the rest of his life.[2][1][11][12][13] In 1918, he was manager of the Australian Straw Hat Factory.[14] In 1922, he went into business on his own, establishing millinery manufacturing and importing firm Fotheringhams Ltd., which he operated until his death.[2][15]
Fotheringham died at his home in the Sydney suburb ofMosman in 1924 and was buried at the Northern Suburbs Cemetery (nowMacquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium).[2]
| Victorian Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forFootscray 1901–1902 | Succeeded by |