Colonial Treasurer 5.1.1883 - 6.10.1885
(Stuart Ministry No.20 5.1.1883 - 6.10.1885)
Colonial Treasurer 10.10.1885 - 21.12.1885
(Dibbs Ministry No.21 7.10.1885 - 21.12.1885)
Born Sydney, 12 October 1834 son of Capt. John, ship's captain and Sophia Elizabeth.
Educated St Philip's Church of England School, and Australia College.
Clerk, commission agent with brother in JC Dibbs & Co. Trader with Chile, corn factor at Valparaiso, importer and shipowner.
Represented West Sydney 1874-1877, St Leonards 1882-1885, Murrumbidgee 1885-1894, Tamworth 1894-1895.
Of a litigious bent, ‘an impetuous temperament and imperious manner’, Dibbs spent twelve months in Darlinghurst Debtor’s Prison in 1880 following his brothers divorce action. Further litigation with the Bank of New South Wales and later still that with the Daily Telegraph brought him further notoriety and into direct and public conflict with Treasury’s Consulting Accountant, James Thomson and Sir Patrick Jennings.
His fiscal management during the financial crisis of 1892-93 attracted public acclaim. Represented NSW at 1891 Federal Convention. Went on financial mission to London 1892.
Died Passy, Hunter’s Hill 5 August 1904 and buried St Thomas’s cemetery, North Sydney. Survived by his wife Anne Maria Robey, nine daughters and two sons.
NSW Treasurers
Last updated: 04/02/2021
