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Edward Higham
Edward Henry Higham (son of John Henry Higham and Mary Ann Phipps) was born 26-Jul-1846 in Eydon, Brackley, Northants. He died 20-Apr-1885 in Fremantle. He married Alice Glyde (daughter of George Frederick Glyde and Alice Draper) on 27-Apr-1880 in Perth. She was born on 04-Sep-1852 in Fremantle, and died on 24-Aug-1923 in Clifton Downs, Bristol, Gloucestershire. (Ward)
Edward Henry Higham (26 July 1846 – 20 April 1885) was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1880 to 1884.
The son of a baker, he was born 26 July 1846,in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. In 1853 his father and mother, John and Mary Higham, and family emigrated to Western Australia, settling in Fremantle and opening a bakery and confectionery shop. After the death of his John Higham, Edward left school in 1859 to help his mother run the shop. By 1870 his mother had created a second business: M. Higham and Sons, selling clothing and furnishing – and Edward became a partner in the firm.
From 1870 on, Higham became increasingly involved in public life. In 1871 be became the chairman of the Fremantle Roads Board at a meeting at his mother's house. This committee was to become important in time and is seen today as the start of the City of Cockburn. From 1872 to 1876 he served on the Fremantle Town Council, and in 1873 he became a founding member of the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the Fremantle Building Society for ten years from 1875, and a member of the Fremantle Board of Education in 1876. From 1878 until 1882, Higham again served on the Fremantle Town Council, becoming its chairman in 1883. On 10 February 1880, Edward Higham became a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, holding the seat of Fremantle until 21 October 1884.
In April 1880, Higham married Alice Glyde, daughter of George Glyde and later wife of William Pearse. They would have three sons and a daughter. Higham died at Fremantle on 20 April 1885. Wikipedia.
West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 25 April 1885, page 3
OBITUARY.
Mr. E. Higham, whose death we recorded on Tuesday, was born in the County of Oxford, England, and was the eldest son of Mr. John Higham. He arrived in this colony, with his parents, when he was only seven years of age, in the year 1853. The Ven. Archdeacon Brown, and the Rev, J. Johnston and family were passengers in the same vessel, the Sabrina of Liverpool, which brought to this colony nearly 300 persons, adults and children. Mr. Higham's father commeneed business in High Street, Fremantle, at first in a very small way, but by the aid of his wife, a person of remarkable energy and decision of character, he soon overcome the first difficulties incident to settlers in a new country. Mr. Higham senr., died in the year 1859, leaving a widow and four young children. Edward, an intelligent and active boy, had then to leave school and assist his mother in the store, and in time, Mrs. Higham built up an extensive and remunerative business, the son in course of time becoming a partner in the firm of M. Higham & Son. Mrs. Higham died two years ago, bequeathing to her four children property of considerable value. Mr. Edward Higham endowed as he was with great energy and public spirit, soon began to take an active part in public affairs, and his sagacity, integrity of character and good sense, gradually gave him influence amongst his fellow townsmen. He was a useful member of the Roads Board, subsequently he was a member of the Town Council, now merged in the Corporation, and five years ago, he was sent by the electors of Fremantle as one of their representatives to the Legislative Council. He took a great interest in the volunteer movement, and entering the ranks as a private, he rose by degrees till he received the commission of lieutenant. Attached denominationally to the Congregational Church, he was an active member of the Finance Committee of that Body in Fremantle, and a liberal donor to its sustentation fund. Five years ago he married Miss Glyde, the third daughter of that respected citizen of Perth Mr. Geo. Glyde, M.L.C. and he leaves a widow to mourn his loss, and two little boys, too young to remember their father, removed at the comparatively early age of thirty-nine. About a year ago Mr. Higham purchased the port mill, intending to carry it on as a commercial undertaking, and he had succeeded in putting it into good working order, when operations will have to be suspended by his death. As a husband and father and relative, he was kind and affectionate, as a citizen and man of business, he was respected for his truthfulness and integrity, and whilst charity throws a veil of forgetfulness over failings, from which none are free, the people of Fremantle mourn the loss of one who had done much good service to the community of which he was a member, and whose memory will be cherished by many who had been benefitted by his acts of kindness and generosity.
References, Links, Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Robert Ward for an invaluable and comprehensive genealogy of the Higham family.
Brown, Patricia M 1996, The Merchant Princes of Fremantle: The Rise and Decline of a Colonial Elite 1870-1900, UWAP.
Higham, Geoffrey J. 1994, A Most Industrious Tradeswoman: Mary Higham, Nineteenth Century Merchant of Fremantle, Gayton Squirrel Trust, Winthrop WA.
Higham, Geoffrey 2005, 'A person of remarkable energy', Fremantle Studies, 4: 8-21.
Hitchcock, JK 1929, The History of Fremantle, The Front Gate of Australia 1829-1929, Fremantle City Council: 104, 106.
Wikipedia page, whence the photo
Edward Higham obituary,The West Australian, 25 April 1885
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 19 February, 2018 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/highamedward.html (it was last updated on 6 March, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.