Denver Edward Beanland (born 26 January 1945) is a former 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 , establishe ...

, 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 ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivis ...

and leader of the Queensland Liberal Party.

Early life

Denver Edward Beanland was born on 26 January 1945 at St Margaret's Private Hospital,

Kilcoy Kilcoy is a rural town and locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,898 people. Geography The township is on the D'Aguilar Highway, north west of the state capital, Brisbane, ...

, the only son of Norman Edward Beanland and his wife Gwendoline (née Runge). The family lived a dairy farm called ''Avondale'' (originally owned by Beanland's grandfather Herbert Beanland) located at Mary Smokes Creek, between Kilcoy and

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

. Beanland attended the Kalangara State School at Stoney Creek, four miles from his home. He continued his secondary education at

Caboolture State High School Caboolture State High School is a coeducational independent public secondary school located in Caboolture in the local government area of the Moreton Bay Region in Queensland, Australia. Since October 2018, Caboolture State High School's role ...

Local politics

Beanland was elected as an Alderman of the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

in 1976 and served on that Council, including a period as Deputy Lord Mayor of Brisbane until 1986.

State politics

In 1986, Beanland was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland 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 Assembl ...

, in 1986, as the member for

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills ...

. He represented Toowong until 1992, at which time it was renamed

Indooroopilly Indooroopilly is a riverside suburb 7km west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 12,242 people. Geography Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by the median of the Brisbane Ri ...

. Beanland was leader of the Liberal Party in the Queensland Parliament from May 1990 until November 1991, when he was ousted by Joan Sheldon. Although he did not return to the Liberal leadership, he became deputy leader in 1995. Denver Beanland served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the Borbidge government from February 1996 to 20 June 1998. He also served as Opposition Spokesperson, prior to 1996, for a number of portfolios including Justice, Transport and Land Management. In 1997 a vote of no-confidence was passed against him as Attorney-General over his role in the Carruthers and Connolly-Ryan Inquiries. In an unprecedented decision he refused to resign in the wake of the no-confidence vote, citing his lack of personal responsibility for the scandal. He was supported by Premier Rob Borbidge who says he decides who is in his Cabinet not Parliament. He lost his seat of Indooroopilly at the 2001 state election.

Later life

After leaving politics, Beanland studied at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, completing a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in history in 2007. The topic of his PhD thesis was former

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is a ...

Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most po ...

. Denver Beanland has been the President of the

Royal Historical Society of Queensland The Royal Historical Society of Queensland (RHSQ) is a historical society founded in Brisbane, Australia in 1913. It promotes the study of Australian history especially that of Queensland and adjacent Pacific islands. It maintains an important co ...

since 2020 after having previously been its President from 2007 to 2009. In 2019 he was elected a Fellow of the Society. In 2015 Beanland was appointed by the Abbott Government to chair the National Archives Advisory Council. On 7 June 2020, Beanland was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the people and Parliament of Queensland, and to archival and historical organisations.

Publications

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References

1945 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of Australia People from Brisbane Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 20th-century Australian politicians Attorneys-General of Queensland 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub