Robert Harper

Robert Harper (1 February 1842 – 9 January 1919) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was the founder of Robert Harper and Co., which became one of Melbourne's largest dry goods firms, and served terms in the Parliament of Victoria and as one of the inaugural member of the Australian House of Representatives.

Harper was born in Scotland and arrived in Australia at a young age. In 1865 he went into business as a spice merchant, establishing Robert Harper and Co. which subsequently expanded into milling and manufacturing operations with branches in most Australian colonies and New Zealand. He developed diverse business interests and was a director of various public companies. Harper served several terms in the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 1879 and 1897, although he never held ministerial office. He was elected to the first federal parliament in 1901, holding the Victorian seat of Mernda until his retirement in 1913. He was associated with Alfred Deakin's Liberal Protectionist Party, although he was known as one of its more social conservative members.

Early life Harper was born on 1 February 1842 in Glasgow, Scotland. He was the son of Elizabeth (née Calderwood) and Robert Harper, his father being a merchant. His younger brother Andrew Harper became a prominent Biblical scholar.

Harper was educated at The Glasgow Academy until the age of thirteen. He and his family emigrated to Australia in August 1856, settling in Melbourne. He subsequently began working for James F. McKenzie and Co., a supplier of coffee, spices and other commodities. He became a partner in the firm in 1863, but left two years later to start his own enterprise.

Harper was joined in the firm by his brothers William and John and by the 1870s it was one of Melbourne's largest merchant firms. The company subsequently established branches in the other Australian colonies and New Zealand,

Harper was very active on parliamentary committees but never held ministerial office. He stood as a Liberal Protectionist aligned with Deakin, albeit as one of the more conservative members of the party. However, the presiding judge refused to award costs to Harper. Ronald subsequently appealed to the full bench of the Supreme Court and then to the High Court of Australia, with both appeals rejected.

After his defeat in court, Ronald alleged that several of Harper's witnesses had perjured themselves or unduly influenced other witnesses. In November 1909, William Harrison, a witness against Ronald, was convicted of perjury over his testimony and imprisoned for three months. The following year, Patrick Hill was convicted of perjury and subornation of perjury. The Victorian government then charged Harper and several others with conspiring to defeat the ends of justice. Harper was found not guilty at the resulting trial, with the presiding judge directing the jury to acquit him and laying the responsibility for the tainted evidence with Hill.

In 1913, Ronald launched a renewed suit against Harper, seeking damages of £10,000 and to overturn the previous verdicts on the grounds of proven perjury. Both the Supreme Court and High Court refused to accept his case, finding that the outcome of the previous libel suit would have been the same even if the tainted evidence was excluded.

Personal life In 1868, Harper married Jane Ballingall Cairns, the daughter of Presbyterian minister Adam Cairns. She became "a prominent Melbourne philanthropist", holding offices in several charities. The couple had seven children together, two of whom predeceased him.

Harper helped establish the Presbyterian Church in Toorak and was a church elder. He was involved in the church's schism in the early 1880s which saw liberal preacher Charles Strong resign from the church and establish a breakaway Australian Church.

In about 1915, Harper purchased Airlie, a mansion in South Yarra. He died at his home on 9 January 1919, aged 76. His estate was valued for probate at £175,239 .