Cotton, Francis, 1857 – 1942

Francis Cotton (1857-1942), journalist and parliamentarian, was born at Adelaide, SA, son of Richard and Esther Cotton. He was educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, and worked on a cattle station before moving to NSW. Cotton worked as a farmer, drover, shearer and lay preacher at Forbes and became involved in social reform founding a tax reform group at Forbes.

By 1889 Cotton was a member of the Single Tax League in Sydney and was working as a journalist. He represented the Wagga Wagga shearers on the Trades and Labor Council and took part in the planning and establishment of the Labor Party. He was elected member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for the seat of Newtown (1891-1894) and for Newtown-Camperdown (1895-1901).