Mr James Gibb

Mr James Gibb was a successful farmer, stud breeder and politician who was vital to reviving the Mornington Farmers Society in the late 19th Century.

A settler at Berwick, James Gibb became heavily involved in the agricultural show movement, joining the National Agricultural Society of Victoria council in 1874. He was later elected Vice President in 1882, and then in 1883 he was elected President for just one year. He served fifteen terms as Vice President and was a Trustee from 1884 until 1915.

A staunch defender of free trade, Mr Gibb unearthed his interest in politics when he joined the Berwick Shire Council. Then, In 1880, he took up a seat on the Victorian Legislative Assembly as a member for Mornington where he remained until 1886. As a Free Trade Party Member, he then held a seat on the Australian House of Representatives for three years from 1903-06, at which time his political career melted due to his unsuccessful campaign against the former Protectionist Premier of New South Wales, Sir William Lyne.

Mr James Gibb died on 22 February 1919, aged 75.