Alfred John Stephenson (1845–1914) was a politician in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. He was a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former electoral div ...

and a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Council Following are lists of members of the Queensland Legislative Council: * 1860–1869 * 1870–1879 * 1880–1889 * 1890–1899 *1900–1909 The 1900s may refer to: * 1900s (decade), the decade from 1900 to 1909 * The century from 1900 to 1999, al ...

Early life

Alfred John Stephenson was born on 15 November 1845 at

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, London, England, the son of John Stephenson and his wife Martha. He attended a Birkbeck school and then a private academy. At age 15, he left England and came to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, Queensland.

Career

Stephenson was apprenticed as printer on the ''

North Australian The ''North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser'' was the first newspaper published in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was commonly called the ''North Australian'' as those words appeared most prominently on its masthead. History ...

'' newspaper published in Ipswich. In 1877 he became one of the proprietors of the '' Queensland Times''. He served on various boards, trusts and committees including: * Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company *

Ipswich and West Moreton Building Society Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line railw ...

* Ipswich General Hospital *

Ipswich Girls Grammar School , motto_translation = Diligence Overcomes All , established = 1892 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Girls , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , principal = Peter Britton , key_people = , ch ...

* Ipswich Technical College

Politics

On 7 March 1894, John MacFarlane, one of the two Ministerialist members for

, died. Alfred Stephenson contested the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 31 March 1894 as a Ministerialist, but Australian Labour Party candidate

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier, politician, and double agent who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, b ...

won. Alfred John Stephenson was elected in the

electoral district of Ipswich Ipswich is a Legislative Assembly of Queensland electoral district on the Brisbane River, west of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland. The electorate includes Ipswich and its suburbs, south and east of the Bremer River, west of Bun ...

on 21 March 1896 (the 1896 election) and served until 11 March 1902 when he was defeated in the 1902 election by lawyer

James Blair James Blair may refer to: *James Blair (Australian judge) (1870–1944), Australian judge, lawyer, and politician *James Blair (cricketer) (1900–1961), Australian-born New Zealand cricketer * James Blair (farmer) (1825–1901), Scottish-born farm ...

. In June 1902, he was elected an alderman of the

Ipswich City Council The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

and served as mayor in 1907. On 3 July 1914 he was appointed to the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

. He served on the council for only a few months until his death.

Later life

His wife Jane died at their home ''Chermside'', Roderick Street, Ipswich on 29 March 1909. In May 1914, as District Grand Master of the English Freemasons, he travelled extensively through the northern parts of Queensland. While there, he contracted malaria after which his health progressively deteriorated. Despite his failing health, on 24 November 1914, he married Charlotte Lee Smith (née Haffner), the widow of George William Smith, of Sans Souci, Sydney. Alfred John Stephenson died on Friday 4 December 1914 at his home ''Chermside'', Roderick Street, Ipswich. His funeral service was held on Sunday 6 December 1915 at the

Old Ipswich Town Hall Old Ipswich Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall at 116 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Percy Owen Cowlishaw and built from 1861 to 1879. It is also known as Mechanics Schoo ...

followed by a large funeral procession to the

Ipswich General Cemetery The Ipswich General Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It is the second oldest cemetery in Queensland. It is owned by Ipswich City Council, but the council have outsourced the day-to-day operations to a private c ...

where he was buried with masonic rites. As a mark of respect, the

adjourned their sitting on that day. His second wife Charlotte died on 19 February 1943 at the home of her daughter in

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Municipali ...

in Sydney. She was buried on 20 February 1943 in the Woronora Cemetery. File:AU-Qld-Ipswich-Cemetery-Congregational-Uniting graves section-2021.jpg, Congregational graves section, where Stephenson is buried, to the right of the monument of politician Lewis Thomas File:AU-Qld-Ipswich-Cemetery-Alfred John STEPHENSON-2021.jpg, Family grave plot

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Alfred John Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1845 births 1914 deaths Colony of Queensland people People from Pimlico Politicians from London English emigrants to colonial Australia Queensland local councillors Mayors of Ipswich, Queensland People from Ipswich, Queensland Burials at Ipswich General Cemetery Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly