Sir Henry Parkes

Sir Henry Parkes

Henry Parkes was a famous politician and journalist in his lifetime. He was born on the 27th of May 1815 in the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England. His parents were Thomas and Martha Parkes. Henry Parkes was very poor as a child. Falling wheat prices didn’t help his mother and father who worked as farmers. They were forced to move to Birmingham. Henry Parkes never went to school; he educated himself by reading books. He also did a little study at a Mechanics Institute.

In July 1836, when he was 21 years old he married his first wife Clarinda Varney. He tried to get work and start a business by becoming a craftsman who worked with bone and ivory but he had no success. In his panic to find work he also lost 2 of his infant children thus influencing him to sail to Australia and leave their London home. They reached Sydney in July 1839. Sydney life for Parkes was no better than in England. Parkes struggled to find work but to no avail. He worked in a job ...