John Young (building contractor)

John Young (1827 – 27 February 1907) was an Australian bowler, builder, politician and alderman.[1]

John Young JP
33rd Mayor of Sydney
In office 9 December 1885 – 9 December 1886
Preceded by	Thomas Playfair
Succeeded by	Alban Joseph Riley
1st Mayor of Annandale
In office 14 February 1894 – 10 February 1897
Succeeded by	Allen Taylor
Personal details
Born	1827 Foot's Cray, Kent, England
Died	27 February 1907 Annandale, New South Wales, Australia

Life and career

Young was born in Foot's Cray, Kent, England and died in Annandale, Sydney, New South Wales.[2] After moving to Victoria, Australia, in 1855, he had mixed results as a builder. He then moved to Sydney in 1866 and proceeded to make his mark. As a result, he is especially remembered as the builder of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney (designed by William Wardell), and the Johnston Street group of houses in Annandale. The most outstanding house in the group was The Abbey, a sandstone, heritage-listed house in the Victorian Free Gothic style.[3] (Sydney folklore has it that Young took gargoyles intended for St Mary's Cathedral and used them on The Abbey). Another outstanding house was Highroyd. The house known as Oybin is also heritage-listed.[4][5]

The Johnston Street group originally consisted of eight houses, two of which (Rozelle and Claremont) have since been demolished and replaced with blocks of home units. Young himself lived in the nearby house known as Kentville, which has also been demolished.

Young also took an active interest in politics, unsuccessfully standing for a seat in the Legislative Assembly on five occasions, 1873 (Glebe),[6] 1874 (East Sydney),[7] 1880 (Newtown),[8] 1887 (Hartley),[9] and 1894 (Annandale).[10] He was mayor of Leichhardt in 1879 and 1884–85, mayor of Sydney in 1885-86, and mayor of Annandale in 1894–97.[2]

Young died of cancer at Kentville in 1907.[2]

John Young Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Greenway is named in his honour.[11]

References

1. "JohnYoung". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
2. Johnson, Robert. "Young, John (1827–1907)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 February 2012 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
3. "Elkington Park". State Heritage Register.
4. "Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool". State Heritage Register.
5. "Annandale – the houses of John Young". Leichhardt Council.
6. Green, Antony. "1873 Glebe by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
7. Green, Antony. "1874-5 East Sydney". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
8. Green, Antony. "1880 Newtown". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
9. Green, Antony. "1887 Hartley". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
10. Green, Antony. "1894 Annandale". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
11. "Australian Capital Territory: National Memorial Ordinance 1928 Determination of Nomenclature". Commonwealth Of Australia Gazette. 31 August 1988. p. 13. Retrieved 20 May 2019 – via Trove.

 

Civic offices
Preceded by John Thomas Fraser	Mayor of Leichhardt 1879 – 1880	Succeeded by John Thomas Fraser
Preceded by William Pritchard	Mayor of Leichhardt 1885 – 1886	Succeeded by Samuel George Davison
Preceded by Thomas Playfair	Mayor of Sydney 1885 – 1886	Succeeded by Alban Joseph Riley
New title	Mayor of Annandale 1894 – 1897	Succeeded by Allen Taylor