Arthur Orpen Herbert (May 1831 – 29 October 1890) was a public servant 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 the second commissioner of

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

Early life

Arthur Orpen Herbert was born at

Glanmire Glanmire () is a suburban town from Cork city centre, in the civil parish of Rathcooney, County Cork, Ireland. Glanmire is within the administrative area of Cork City Council and the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. The greater Gl ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland, on 26 May 1831, the only son of Captain Massey Hutchinson Herbert, of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and his wife Elizabeth (née Orpen). He was educated at Bandon College in County Cork and at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He immigrated to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1853. On 11 May 1864, he married Agnes Anne Moriarty in the Holy Trinity Church,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Career

Herbert was appointed on 19 April 1853 as a clerk first class ordinary division in the Surveyor-General's Department of New South Wales. At the

separation of Queensland The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day State of Queensland in Australia was excised from the Colony of New South Wales and created as a separate Colony of Queensland. History European sett ...

in December 1859, he was selected by the Surveyor-General to bring to newly established Colony of Queensland the records and papers relating to the pastoral occupation and leasing and sale of Crown lands. On arrival in Brisbane, he was appointed chief clerk in the Surveyor-General's Office in February 1860. He was appointed secretary to the Lands Board in August 1860. In April 1862 he became Under Secretary for Lands and Works, to which was added on 28 October 1864 the position of Commissioner of Railways. After the separation of the Lands Department from the Works Department, he became the Under Secretary for Lands in addition to his railway duties. On 29 April 1869, the Secretary for Public Works and Mines

Arthur Macalister Arthur Macalister, (18 January 1818 – 23 March 1883) was three times Premier of Queensland, Australia. Early life Macalister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Macalister, a cabinet maker, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Scoullar. M ...

was briefly appointed Commissioner for Railways, before Herbert was restored to the position on 15 July 1870 by the new Secretary for Public Work
William Henry Walsh
In January 1877, the responsibilities connected with Queensland's rapidly growing railway system made it imperative to relieve him of the duties connected with the general works of the colony in order to focus on the railways. He continued as Commissioner for Railways until 12 March 1885, when he was appointed Under Secretary for Railways, with the Commissionership transferring to

Francis Curnow Francis Curnow (died 24 April 1901) was the third commissioner of the Queensland Railway Department in Australia. Railway career By 1866 Curnow had settled in Ipswich, Queensland, as a railway storekeeper, a position made necessary by the openin ...

. He was well regarded as an honest and painstaking public servant.

Later life

Herbert retired upon his pension at the end of 1885 and lived quietly at his residence in

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

. Herbert died suddenly at his home on 29 October 1890. He was survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

Published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Arthur Orpen People from Queensland Rail transport in Queensland 1831 births 1890 deaths Railway commissioners of Queensland