James Chester Manifold

Chester Manifold
Member of the Australian Parliament for Corangamite
In office 29 March 1901 – 23 November 1903
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Gratton Wilson
In office 31 May 1913 – 23 October 1918
Preceded by	James Scullin
Succeeded by	William Gibson
Personal details
Born	(1867-02-10)10 February 1867
Died	30 October 1918(1918-10-30) (aged 51) At sea, Pacific Ocean
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Protectionist (1901–09) Liberal (1909–17) Nationalist (1917–18)
Spouse(s)	Lilian Eva Curle
Occupation	Landowner

James Chester Manifold (10 February 1867 – 30 October 1918) was an Australian politician and philanthropist.

Early life

Manifold attended Geelong Grammar School, and went to England with his family in 1881; however, the northern climate did not agree with his health, so the family returned. He subsequently attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, and, when he came into possession of a property, he used it mostly to rent for dairy farmers, to whom he later sold the land. He was a member of Hampden Shire Council in the 1890s, being its president twice. On 11 March 1891, he married Lilian Eva Curle.

Federal politics

Manifold was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the inaugural member for Corangamite in 1901, representing the Protectionist Party. He retired in 1903 due to ill health, but was persuaded to oppose the sitting Labor member, future Prime Minister James Scullin, in 1913 for the Commonwealth Liberal Party. He defeated Scullin in the election of that year. He held the seat until his unexpected death of pneumonia at sea during a trip to North America on 30 October 1918; he was buried at sea. He was survived by a son (Chester "Thomas" Manifold jnr) and a daughter. A statue of Manifold by Nelson Illingworth was unveiled by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce at Camperdown, Victoria in 1921.

His son, Sir Thomas Chester Manifold was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1929-1935 representing the electoral district of Hampden for the Nationalist Party and later the United Australia Party.^[1]

References

• de Serville, P.H. (1986). "Manifold, James Chester (1867 - 1918)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 2008-03-15.