John Douglas (Queensland politician)
Australian politician (1828–1904)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Douglas CMG (6 March 1828 – 23 July 1904) was an Anglo-Australian politician and Premier of Queensland.[1]
John Douglas | |
|---|---|
| |
| 7th Premier of Queensland | |
| In office 8 March 1877 – 21 January 1879 | |
| Preceded by | George Thorn |
| Succeeded by | Thomas McIlwraith |
| Constituency | Maryborough |
| 5th Treasurer of Queensland | |
| In office 19 December 1866 – 21 May 1867 | |
| Preceded by | John Donald McLean |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Blacket Stephens |
| Constituency | Eastern Downs |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Darling Downs | |
| In office 5 July 1859 – 10 December 1859 | |
| Preceded by | William Wild |
| Succeeded by | David Bell |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Camden | |
| In office 21 December 1860 – 17 July 1861 | |
| Preceded by | William Wild |
| Succeeded by | David Bell |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Port Curtis | |
| In office 14 June 1863 – 1 February 1866 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Sandeman |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Palmer |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Eastern Downs | |
| In office 4 January 1867 – 18 September 1868 | |
| Preceded by | John Donald McLean |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Macalister |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for East Moreton | |
| In office 28 September 1868 – 16 December 1868 | |
| Preceded by | James Garrick |
| Succeeded by | Henry Jordan |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Maryborough | |
| In office 27 April 1875 – 24 November 1880 | |
| Preceded by | Berkeley Basil Moreton |
| Succeeded by | Henry Palmer |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Council | |
| In office 22 February 1866 – 25 July 1866 | |
| In office 11 December 1868 – 13 November 1869 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 March 1828 |
| Died | 23 July 1904 (aged 76) |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ann Howe Sarah Hickey |
| Relations | Henry Douglas (son), Alex Douglas (great grandson) |
| Occupation | Civil Servant |
Early life
Douglas was born in London, the seventh son of Henry Alexander Douglas[1] and his wife Elizabeth Dalzell, daughter of the Earl of Carnwath. His father, the third son of Sir William Douglas, 4th Baronet of Kelhead, was a brother of the sixth and seventh Marquesses of Queensberry. Douglas' father died in 1837 and his mother in 1833 (burial records of the church of St Mary-Le-Bone, London), he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Rugby 1843–47 and Durham University where he graduated B.A. in 1850.[2]
Politics
He was elected for the Darling Downs and for Camden in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly until resigning on 17 July 1861. He moved to Queensland in 1863.[3]
On 12 May 1863 he was elected as member for Port Curtis in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He resigned on 1 February 1866, in order to be appointed on to the Queensland Legislative Council, which occurred on 22 February 1866.[4]
In 1871 Douglas returned to Queensland and became insolvent on 23 February 1872. Lewis Adolphus Bernays claimed Douglas had more success as a clever political wire-puller behind the scenes than he had in parliament.[5]
Later life
In 1865 Augustus Charles Gregory, Maurice Charles O'Connell and Douglas applied for a special grant of land to erect a Masonic Hall in Brisbane. This was granted on 15 January 1865.[6]
In 1882 he was elected president of Brisbane's Johnsonian Club.[7]
In 1888 Douglas returned to his old position on Thursday Island. In 1890 he was one of the organisers of the rescue of survivors from RMS Quetta.[8] He also proposed that Torres Strait Islanders be given citizenship in 1900.[9]
Port Douglas is named in his honour.[10]
Personal life
Douglas was married twice, first on 22 January 1861 to Mary Ann, daughter of the Rev. William West Simpson. She was killed in a carriage accident 23 November 1876 and, in 1877, he married for the second time, to Sarah, daughter of Michael Hickey, with whom he had four sons:
- Edward Archibald Douglas (1877–1947), was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in March 1929[11]
- Henry Alexander Cecil Douglas (1879–1917), a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
- Hugh Maxwell Douglas (1881–1918), a lieutenant in the 47th Battalion, 1st AIF, who died 8 April 1918 aged 37, while fighting at Dernacourt in France during World War I .[12]
- Robert Johnstone Douglas (1883–1972), was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1923[13] and married Annie Alice May Ball, daughter of Townsville pioneer Andrew Ball
Douglas died on Thursday Island on 23 July 1904.
Descendants
Through his son Henry, he was a grandfather of Alexander Michael Douglas (b. 1926), and a great-grandfather of Alexander Rodney Douglas, formerly a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Gaven.
