David Moore (1824-1898)

While the death of Mr. David Moore at his residence, Charnwood-road, St. Kilda, yesterday disappears one of that rapidly dwindling band of surviving members of the first Parliament of Victoria. Mr. Moore was born in Sydney in 1824, being a son of Captain Joseph Moore, a partner in the firm of Messrs. William Walker and Co., merchants, who were largely interested in the whaling industry. Twenty-seven years later he crossed to the shores of the Port Phillip settlement, and remained in it ever since. In Sydney, Mr. Moore had already grown to be regarded as an astute and shrewd man of business, and in the office of Messrs. Walker and Co. he had attained an important position. Consequently, when he arrived in Melbourne, his reputation stood him in good stead, and he found in mercantile circles that confidence which would have been denied to a stranger. Mr. Moore quickly became prominent among the Melbourne business men of the day, and showed so keen a grasp of political matters that he was pressed to stand for the Legislative Assembly when the first election was announced. Acceding to this request, Mr. Moore chose the constituency of Melbourne, which then returned four members, and had the satisfaction of finding himself at the head of the poll. At the opening of the Parliament at St. Patrick's Hall, which is still standing in Bourke-street west, Mr. Moore took his seat, and so speedily did he progress in Parliamentary practice that when the second Haines Ministry was formed in April, 1857, he was appointed President of the Board of Land and Works. During Mr. Moore's career in Parliament he was a firm advocate of the policy of free trade, and his advocacy of the cause did not relax even in after years. A man possessed of considerable wealth and property, Mr. Moore has not been prominent in public life for many years past, but in financial and mercantile matters his grasp remained just as firm as ever. For 44 years continuously he has held a position on the directorate of the Victorian branch of the Bank of New South Wales, and at the time of his death he occupied the chair of the president of the Southern Insurance Company. Mr. Moore leaves a widow and several children, among whom are Mr. Charles W. Moore, Mrs. Edward Fanning, Mrs. A. Stewart Forbes, Mrs. Shepherd Laidley, and Mrs. Harvey W. Hamilton. Though largely interested in Victorian institutions, the bulk of Mr. Moore's property is situated in New South Wales, including considerable squatting areas in Riverina.