The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Cooper, Sir Daniel
Cooper, Sir Daniel, Bart., G.C.M.G., second son of Thomas Cooper, of Richmond Cottage, Double Bay, near Sydney, N.S.W., who emigrated to Australia from Bolton-le-Moors, Lancashire, was born on July 1st, 1821. In 1843 he went to New South Wales, and was elected a member of the Legislative Council in 1849. In 1856 he was returned to the first Legislative Assembly of that colony for Sydney Hamlets, and was chosen the first Speaker of the Lower House. This position he held till 1860, when he resigned, and was asked to form a Ministry in succession to that of the late Mr. Forster. He, however, declined, and returned to reside in England in 1861. He married in 1846 Elizabeth, third daughter of William Hill, of Sydney, and was knighted in 1857, created a baronet in 1863, K.C.M.G. in 1880, and G.C.M.G. in 1888. Sir Daniel has on several occasions been Acting Agent-General for New South Wales, and was a member of the Royal Commission for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in 1886. The primary honours conferred on Sir Daniel Cooper were due to his spirited action in subscribing to the relief of the sufferers during the Crimean war and the Lancashire cotton famine. Sir Daniel is a member of the Senate of Sydney University and President of the Bank of New South Wales.