Robert Lynn (Australian politician)

The Honourable Robert Lynn
Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia
In office 22 May 1912 – 21 May 1924
Preceded by	Robert Laurie
Succeeded by	William Kitson
Constituency	West Province
Personal details
Born	14 March 1873 Stockton, New South Wales, Australia
Died	12 September 1928 (aged 55) West Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Nationalist

Robert John Lynn (14 March 1873 – 12 September 1928) was an Australian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1912 to 1924.

Lynn was born in Stockton, New South Wales (on the Hunter River), to Mary (née McKindley) and Richard Lynn. His mother was Scottish and his father was American, and worked as a shipwright.^[1] He left school at the age of 14, working as a clerk with a wholesale business in Newcastle. Lynn arrived in Western Australia in 1895, during the gold rushes, and spent one year prospecting at Coolgardie before settling in Fremantle, where he worked as a clerk for a shipping firm.^[2] After a series of joint ventures with other partners, he eventually went into business himself. In 1919, Lynn's firm amalgamated with another company (becoming Johnson & Lynn Ltd.), and expanded into the coal trade. They supplied capital to run-down coal leases in the Collie district, and eventually consolidated their interests into Amalgamated Collieries Ltd., which from the early 1920s had a near monopoly on the coalfields. Outside of the coal industry, Lynn served as managing director of six other companies at various points, across a wide range of industries.^[1]

In 1904, Lynn was elected to the Fremantle Municipal Council, serving until 1909. In 1912, he successfully stood as a Liberal candidate for the Legislative Council, replacing Robert Laurie as one of the three members for West Province. Lynn joined the newly formed Nationalist Party in 1917, and was re-elected for another six-year term the following year, eventually retiring from parliament in 1924. While in parliament, Lynn served as patron of the East Fremantle Football Club from 1912 to 1918. The club's best and fairest award, the Lynn Medal, is named in his honour.^[2] Lynn died in Perth in September 1928, of nephritis. He had married Ada Turton in 1901, with whom he had three children. A great-granddaughter, June Craig, was also a member of parliament.^[1]

References

1. Alan, Bonds (1986). "Lynn, Robert John (1873–1928)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 10. Canberra: Australian National University.
2. Robert John Lynn – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2016.