The town of Parkes in New South Wales is named after Henry Parkes and his picture appears on stamps. Five times premier of New South Wales, Parkes was born Warwickshire, UK in 1815.
In 1836 he and his wife Clarinda applied for assisted passage to Australia. He worked as a farm labourer for a short time before getting involved in local politics and working for the NSW government.
Through his entrepreneurial pursuits he became extremely influential and made his mark in the state. Good husband material he was not, as he would leave his wife and five children to fend for themselves:
“All this time, Parkes left his wife and five children at Werrington (near Penrith). Mrs Parkes was often short of money and constantly besieged by creditors. The property was managed by an insolent and disobedient man and the property went down hill. She indicated her loneliness in a letter to her husband after the birth of their sixth child when she wrote, "I have received no congratulations". Parkes had ventured upon another business and once more shown his lack of acumen by going bankrupt again, this time losing his property lease.” More…http://www.nnsw.com.au/tenterfield/hparkes.html
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