Charles Tucker (politician)

Charles Tucker c. 1902

Charles Tucker (20 February 1857 – 5 December 1928) was Mayor of Adelaide from 1894 to 1898 and a member of the South Australian House of Assembly for the seats of Encounter Bay and Alexandra.[1][2][3][4]

Tucker was born at Walkerville, South Australia, son of shopkeeper William Henry Tucker (c. 1825–1899)[5] and his wife Eliza Mary Tucker, née Samler[1] (c. 1823–1909),[6] who arrived in South Australia in 1836.

He was educated at Unwin's school in Walkerville, J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution in Parkside, followed by private tuition. He started his working life at Port Adelaide in 1879 with G. R. Selth, next became manager for Graves & Co., then partner in E. Malpas & Co., shipping and customs agents; he purchased Malpas's share in the company in 1880, becoming sole owner. His fortunes rose when he was appointed shipping and customs agent for John Martin and Co., the titular head of which became his brother-in-law.[7]

In 1888 he was elected councillor for the East Ward, City of Port Adelaide, and fifteen months later succeeded Ralph Wheatley Odgers Kestel (died 1903) as mayor,[8] a position he held for three years. In 1893 he was elected alderman for the City of Adelaide[9] and mayor in 1894.[10]

He was associated with a variety of mining firms such as F. Ayers, Blades, Gall, Scandinavian mine at Purnamoota, Euriowie, Teetulpa, Newcastle mine, Thackaringa Copper mine and Balhannah goldmining company. He was the owner of Trinity Moonta Mine.[2]

Tucker was a member of the Assembly for Encounter Bay (29 April 1899 to 6 July 1899 and 29 July 1899 to 2 May 1902) and Alexandra (3 May 1902 to 2 November 1906).[3][4]

"On 12 February 1907, as customs agent for John Martin & Co. Ltd, Tucker was found guilty of having defrauded the Customs Department during the 1890s of duties payable on goods imported by the firm. His brother and nephew were also implicated. The amount involved approached £33,000 of which Tucker's share had been about £2,000 a year for more than a decade. Tucker was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour; The Observer cautioned against 'the pretensions of smooth-tongued and clever individuals of gentlemanly address and suitably captivating manners'. It had been South Australia's longest criminal trial: there were 97 witnesses and some 8,000 exhibits, and the case ran for 31 days."[11][12]

More sensational details of his private life were published by the Kalgoorlie Sun.[7]

  1. ^ a b Stewart, Vivien. "Tucker, Charles (1857–1928)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b The Mayor of Adelaide, Adelaide observer, 8 December 1894, p. 16, col. d
  3. ^ a b "Charles Tucker". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Charles Tucker". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Death of W. H. Tucker". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 25 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Family Notices". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXIV, no. 19, 455. South Australia. 22 March 1909. p. 4. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sun was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Port Adelaide". South Australian Register. Vol. LV, no. 13, 745. South Australia. 2 December 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Declaration of the Poll". South Australian Register. Vol. LVIII, no. 14, 683. South Australia. 4 December 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Municipal Elections". The Advertiser. South Australia. 3 December 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ Bio
  12. ^ Vivien Stewart, 'Tucker, Charles (1857 - 1928)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp. 274–275.