Members of the Queensland Legislative Council, 1917–1922

This is a list of members of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1 January 1917 to the Council's abolition on 23 March 1922. Appointments, made by the Governor of Queensland, were for life, although many members for one reason or another resigned.

Background

The Legislative Council had become a "thorn in the side" of the Labor government, led by T. J. Ryan and in power since the 1915 election, having rejected or drastically amended over 800 bills between 1915 and 1918. Having failed at a referendum on 5 May 1917 to abolish the council, Labor opted for a new strategy – to stack the Legislative Council with Labor appointees who would then vote themselves out of existence.

In July 1917, the Governor, Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams, agreed reluctantly to Ryan's request to appoint 13 members to the Legislative Council. All of the new members had to sign a pledge supporting the abolition of the Council, and were sworn in on 10–12 October 1917. Another three were added to their number on 18 August 1919, and 14 on 19 February 1920 under new Premier Ted Theodore.

Following the death of Labor president of the Council William Hamilton on 27 July 1920, William Lennon, the Speaker of the Assembly was appointed a member and President. By this time, there were 57 members of the Council, 30 of whom were Labor members who had been appointed since the 1917 referendum, and four additional members were pre-existing Labor appointees.

Following a 51–15 vote in the Assembly in favour of the Constitution Act Amendment Bill 1921, Alfred Jones, the leader of the Government in the Council, commented on 26 October: "Today, we advocate the abolition of the Council because of its uselessness. [...] Until we had a majority here, it was obstructive, and now that we have a majority here it is useless". The bill passed by 28–10, and the Council met for the last time on 27 October 1921. The Council formally ceased to exist on 23 March 1922 after the Bill received royal assent on 3 March.

Office bearers

President of the Legislative Council:

Chairman of Committees:

Members

Members shaded red were Labor Party members of the Council.

Name Date appointed Date left Reason for leaving
Randolph Bedford[1]12 October 1917March 23, 1922
Thomas Beirne27 July 1905March 23, 1922
Frederic Brentnall17 April 1886March 23, 1922
Charles Campbell3 July 191418 March 1919Death
William Henry Campbell12 July 190617 June 1919Death
Robert Carroll19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Arthur Carter15 July 19016 November 1917Death
William Colborne19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Joe Collings19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Frederick Courtice12 October 1917March 23, 1922
James Cowlishaw18 April 1878March 23, 1922
Walter Russell Crampton10 October 1917March 23, 1922
George Curtis3 July 1914March 23, 1922
Alfred Davey12 July 1906March 23, 1922
William Demaine10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Jeremiah Donovan19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Timothy Donovan19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Andrew Dunn3 July 1914March 23, 1922
William Dunstan [2]19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Bartley Fahey5 May 19049 August 1920Death
William Finlayson19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Edwin Fowles1 July 1912March 23, 1922
Angus Gibson6 April 189928 May 1920Death
George Wilkie Gray23 August 1894March 23, 1922
Henry Littleton Groom12 July 1906March 23, 1922
Thomas Murray Hall12 July 1906March 23, 1922
William Hamilton10 July 191527 July 1920Death
Jack Hanlon19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Edward Joseph Hanson19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Arthur Hawthorn[1]11 February 1911March 23, 1922
Albert Hinchcliffe4 May 1904March 23, 1922
Joseph Hodel3 July 1914March 23, 1922
Alfred Jones15 February 1917March 23, 1922
Hamilton Jones10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Thomas Llewellyn Jones18 August 1919March 23, 1922
Charles Kilpatrick19 February 1920March 23, 1922
James Lalor23 August 188811 August 1921Resignation
George Lawson18 August 1919March 23, 1922
Patrick Leahy1 July 1912March 23, 1922
William Lennon18 August 1920March 23, 1922
Henry Llewellyn10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Lewis McDonald10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Frank McDonnell3 July 1907March 23, 1922
Charles McGhie4 May 190421 January 1917Death
Herbert McPhail19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Charles Marks28 November 1888March 23, 1922
Edward David Miles5 July 1902March 23, 1922
Berkeley Basil Moreton15 July 1901March 23, 1922
Robert Mulvey19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Peter Murphy4 May 1904March 23, 1922
Thomas Nevitt12 October 1917March 23, 1922
Charles Nielson14 September 1907March 23, 1922
Timothy O'Shea3 July 1914March 23, 1922
Gerald Page-Hanify10 October 191711 February 1922Death
Arthur Parnell3 March 1908March 23, 1922
Isidore Perel10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Edmund Plant8 June 1905March 23, 1922
Ernest Purnell12 October 1917March 23, 1922
Jim Riordan10 October 1917March 23, 1922
Alexander Skirving18 August 1919March 23, 1922
John Gordon Smith19 February 192019 June 1921Death
William Stephens1 July 1912March 23, 1922
Ernest James Stevens6 April 18997 September 1920Retired[1]
Richard Sumner10 October 1917March 23, 1922
William Taylor17 April 1886March 23, 1922
George Thompson19 February 1920March 23, 1922
Andrew Joseph Thynne26 January 1882March 23, 1922
Henry Turner3 July 1907March 23, 1922
Arthur Whittingham1 July 1912March 23, 1922
1 Randolph Bedford resigned on 21 February 1918 and was reappointed on 27 May 1918.
2 William Dunstan resigned on 15 June 1921 and was reappointed on 15 August 1921.

References
  1. "Untitled". The Queenslander. 25 September 1920. p. 23. Retrieved 26 December 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.