John Kessell

John Henry Kessell (1870 - 15 November 1933) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[1]

John Kessell
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Port Curtis
In office 26 October 1912 – 22 May 1915
Preceded by	Edward Breslin
Succeeded by	George Carter
Personal details
Born	John Henry Kessell 1870 Kadina, South Australia, Australia
Died	15 November 1933 (aged 62-63) Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Field of Mars Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Ministerialist
Spouse(s)	Sarah Rosetta Watt (m.1905)
Occupation	Journalist

Biography

Kessell was born at Kadina, South Australia, the son of John Kessell and his wife Elizabeth (née Williams). He was educated in Bathurst and was a proprietor of the Gladstone Observer newspaper and the chairman director of the Mt. Morgan Co.[1]

He married Sarah Rosetta Watt on 2 August 1905 in Brisbane and together had one daughter. Kessell died at the Lewisham Private Hospital,[2] New South Wales, and his funeral proceeded from the Ashfield Methodist Church to the Field of Mars Cemetery.[3]

Public life

Kessell, representing the Ministerialists, contested the seat of Port Curtis at the 1912 state election but lost by two votes to Edward Breslin.[4] The election of Breslin was later declared null and void by Justice Charles Chubb, the elections judge of the Queensland Supreme Court[5] and Kessell won the resulting by-election in October 1912.[4] At the 1915 state election he lost the seat to George Carter.[6]

He was president of the Australian Provincial Press Association and president of the Queensland Country Press Association.[1]

References

1. "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
2. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 913). New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 913). New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "KESSELL LEADING". The Brisbane Courier (17, 096). Queensland, Australia. 28 October 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
5. Port Curtis Election Petition — Hansard. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
6. "CONTESTED SEATS". The Brisbane Courier (17, 896). Queensland, Australia. 26 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.