Charles Collins (25 September 1867 – 28 March 1936) was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

, trade union organiser, and member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

Early life

Collins was born at Willey, Warwickshire, to parents Henry Collins and his wife Lizabeth (née Smith) and was educated at Willey Church of England Village School. He arrived in

Maryborough, Queensland Maryborough ( ) is a city and a suburb in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Maryborough had a population of 15,287. Geography Maryborough is located on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia, approximate ...

in 1883 and worked on the sugar plantations around the

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

and

Pialba Pialba is a coastal town and suburb of Hervey Bay in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the central business district of Hervey Bay. In the , Pialba had a population of 3,678 people. Geography Pialba is a located north of ...

regions before moving to

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

in 1884. Two years later, Collins was in the Kimberley region of Western Australia for the gold rush but, after visiting the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, he was back in Gympie to carry on gold mining.

Political career

Collins was a member of the Political and Amalgamated Miners Association and in 1908 was a general organizer for the Australian Labor Federation and an organizer for the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

in the North Queensland area from 1912 to 1915. Collins, representing the Labour Party, was a candidate for the seat of

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

at the 1909 state election. He defeated the sitting Ministerialist member, William Maxwell but was lost his seat in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

to the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate, William Murphy. At the 1915 state election, Collins stood for the seat of Bowen and defeated the sitting member, Edwin Caine. Collins went on to hold the seat until his death 21 years later. During his service in parliament, he was a member of the Public Works Committee.

Personal life

On the 10 Dec 1892, Collins married Sarah Jane McTaggart (née Browne), the widow of Hugh McTaggart, and together had four children. Sarah died in 1911 and three years later he married Annie Gierke and they had two children. After a long illness, Collins died at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in March 1936. His Funeral moved from his former residence at Lamington Terrace,

Dutton Park Dutton Park is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton Park had a population of 2,024 people. Geography Dutton Park is located about south of the Brisbane CBD. It is bounded to the north-east ...

, to the

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

.Collins Charles
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Charles Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1867 births 1936 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Burials at Toowong Cemetery People from Warwickshire (before 1974)