About John O'Shanassy
Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG, was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Port Phillip District in 1839. He went into business in Melbourne as a draper, and by 1846 he was rich enough to be elected to the Melbourne City Council and to become the founding chairman of the Colonial Bank of Australasia. By the 1850s he was a major landowner and one of the wealthiest men in the colony. He also became a recognised leader of the large Irish Catholic community. O'Shanassy was awarded a papal knighthood in 1859, but news of that award did not reach Victoria until early 1860. Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG (18 February 1818 – 5 May 1883), was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900-84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "O'Shanassy, Sir John". A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856-1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992 Serle, Percival (1949). "O'Shanassay, John".
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