Frederick Courtice (2 April 1883 – 18 February 1956) was a member of 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 ...

Early life

Courtice was born at

Mount Perry, Queensland Mount Perry is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 538 people. The neighbourhood of Drummers Creek is in the locality (). Geography The Perry ...

, to parents Francis Courtice, labourer, and Elizabeth (née Hamilton) and educated at Bundaberg State School.Courtice, Benjamin (1885–1972)
– Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

Political career

When the Labour Party starting forming governments in Queensland, it found much of its legislation being blocked by a hostile Council, where members had been appointed for life by successive conservative governments. After a failed

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in May 1917, Premier Ryan tried a new tactic, and later that year advised the Governor, Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, to appoint thirteen new members whose allegiance lay with Labour to the Council.Goold-Adams, Sir Hamilton John (1858–1920)
– '' Australian Dictionary of Biography''. Retrieved 6 April 2015. Courtice was one of the thirteen new members, and went on to serve for four and a half years until the Council was abolished in March 1922. He also served on the Barolin and Woongarra Shire Council, and was its chairman for 23 years. Courtice was also a member of many boards including: The Bundaberg Harbour and Abattoir Boards, The Burnett Bridge Board, Trustee of the Bundaberg cemetery, Committee member of the Barolin State School, Member of the Millaquin Suppliers, The Cane Prices Board, Canegrowers' Executive, Cane Pests and Diseases Board

Personal life

On 22 April 1908, Courtice married Mary Lillian Pegg and together had six children. One son, Frederick Colin Courtice, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to become a medical researcher and

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...

.College Roll: Courtice, Frederick Colin
;

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

. Retrieved 7 April 2015. Courtice's younger brother, Ben Courtice, also representing the Labor Party, was a long-serving member of the Australian Senate. His nephew, Brian Courtice, later served in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

. Courtice died in February 1956 and was buried in Bundaberg General Cemetery.SEARCH THE BUNDABERG CEMETERY
–

Bundaberg Regional Council The Bundaberg Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the city of Bundaberg, and also contains a significant rural area surroundi ...

. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtice, Frederick Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1883 births 1956 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland People from Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians