Historical information

John Richards Harris was born in 1868 of Cornish miner parents in Chiltern. He attended Rutherglen State School No. 522 (Rutherglen Common School), probably starting there in it's 1st or 2nd year of opening.
He practiced medicine in Rutherglen, and was the doctor who examined many of the local men for enlistment in World War 1. In 1917, he enlisted himself, and served as Medical Officer in the Australian Flying Corps in Egypt.
In 1920 he was elected to the Legislative Council of Victoria, where he served for much of the period from then until 1946. He received his knighthood in 1937.
After retiring from politics, he returned to Rutherglen as a medical practitioner and vigneron. As a vigneron he made the sweet fortified wines that were common in the district, but in the 1920s he experimented with a dry sherry style, made in the Spanish manner. His 'Doctor John' sherry won many show awards.
He died in 1946, and is buried in Carlyle Cemetery, Rutherglen.

Physical description

Black and white portrait photograph of a man in military uniform.

Inscriptions & markings

Typed on back of photo: "Sir John Harris"