William Henley Rawlings

Rawlings was born near Bristol, England, to William Rawlings and his wife Margaret Eliza (née Edwards).^[1] Trained for the sea, he sailed to Sydney in 1869 and on to New Zealand where he engaged in seafaring on the west coast for several years.^[2] In 1875, he was back in Australia and working as a miner in the Parkes goldfields.^[2]

Moving to Queensland and settling in the Herberton district in 1883, he undertook several jobs including labourer, assayer, miner, and prospector.^[2] By 1890, he was working as an Organiser for the Charters Towers Miners' Union.^[1]

Rawlings was nominated as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Woothakata in the 1893 colonial election. Victorious over his competitors William Little and W.M. Bonar,^[3] he held the seat for three years before losing to John Newell in the 1896 election.^[4]

Rawlings was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in July 1906^[5] but served for less than a month before his death in August of that year.^[1] His funeral proceeded from the home of Michael Woods at Spring Hill to Parliament House, and then on to the Toowong Cemetery.^[2][6]