President Sir John See Biography

Sir John See                      (1845 – 1907)

President Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales 1891 – 1907

John See, known as ‘the slab-hut premier’ when he came to power 1901, was born in England to a farm labourer father. The family migrated to Sydney in 1852 to farm in the Hunter region.

In 1862 his brother and he took up land on the Clarence River but ruinous floods drove him to Sydney where he set up as a produce merchant and later helped found what became the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. In 1880 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly and from 1901 to 1904 he was NSW premier.

See’s leadership of the Society was characterised by the same prudence and integrity which he brought to his business dealings and the organisation entered a stable period of steady gains and consolidation. Reforms in the late 1890s saw the Society’s agricultural objectives rearticulated and by the turn of the century the Show and Showground facilities were acknowledged as the best in Australia, attracting leading exhibitors from around the country.

The Grand Commonwealth Exhibition held to celebrate Federation in 1901 was opened by Australia’s first prime minister, Edmund Barton, and pronounced an outstanding success.

 John See retired in 1907. Under his management financially security was achieved and the committee system worked harmoniously towards continual improvement. The Society had at last matured.

A full list of Presidents can be found here.