John McIntyre (politician)

Sir John McIntyre (24 April 1832 – 18 January 1904) was a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman. After emigrating to Australia during the Victorian gold rush, McIntyre became heavily involved in the mining industry around Bendigo in Victoria. Later as he began to rise in prominence he became involved in local politics, eventually becoming the first mayor of Bendigo, a post he held for five years before resigning. In the years following he became heavily involved in community work, serving as a territorial magistrate and children's guardian for the Bendigo district. In 1877 he was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Sandhurst. Although he later lost this seat in 1880, he re-entered parliament in 1881 after winning the seat of Maldon in a by-election. He held this seat until 1902, serving as a minister during James Patterson's premiership and as Leader of the Opposition from 1895 to 1898. In December 1903 he stood for the Australian Senate but narrowly failed to win a seat. Suffering from ill health, he died shortly afterwards.