Arthur Cocks (politician)


Sir Arthur Alfred Clement Cocks was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Cocks was born at Wild Duck Creek, near Heathcote, Victoria and educated at a state school at Richmond before entering retailing at 14. He established a business of wholesale jewellers and opticians, Arthur Cocks & Co.

Political career

He was a member of the Sydney Municipal Council from 1906 to 1914 and was Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1913 and was in 1920 involved in the foundation of the Civic Reform Association.
Cocks represented St Leonards from 1910 to 1920 and North Shore from 1920 to 1925, initially for the Liberal Reform Party and then the Nationalist Party. He was Colonial Treasurer on 20 December 1921 then from 13 April 1922 to 14 February 1925 in the Fuller ministry.

Personal life and death

He married Elizabeth Agnes Gibb in 1884 and they had a son and a daughter.
Cocks died on 25 April 1943 in Mosman, New South Wales. His wife and children predeceased him.

Honours

Cocks was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1925.