Frederick Thomas Wimble (28 November 1846 – 3 January 1936) was an Australian printer and pioneer ink manufacturer and later a publisher and member of 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 ...

representing the

Electoral district of Cairns Cairns is an electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in the state of Queensland, Australia. The division encompasses the central business district and inner-suburbs of Cairns, in Far North Queensland. Major locations inclu ...

Biography

Wimble was born 28 November 1846 at Clerkenwell, London, the thirteenth child (and one of two sons) of Benjamin Wimble and his wife Elizabeth. Benjamin Wimble had pioneered coloured printing ink in England, creating the first supply of red ink to

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. At 21, Wimble travelled to Austria. Suffering poor health, his doctor then suggested a sea voyage and his father paid for him to travel to Australia. He arrived in

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in July 1867. Wimble wrote to his father suggesting a new market for printers inks in Australia and his father replied by sending fresh supplies and his recipes as well as an ink mill, steam engine and other equipment. Wimble produced his first ink on 4 May 1868 and in doing do claimed that the ''

Melbourne Star The Melbourne Star (previously Southern Star) is a 120 metre tall observation wheel in the Waterfront City precinct in the Docklands area of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. Described by its operators as "the Southern Hemi ...

'' newspaper was the first to have been published in Australia with locally manufactured ink. The following year he gained contracts in other states by supplying ink for the printing of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n postage stamps. On 13 March 1872 he married Harriett Gascoigne, a widow with two children. They had three more children but were later divorced. There were to be three children of the marriage, which ended in divorce. Between 1876 and 1878 he traveled to the United States of America and Britain in an effort to secure new printing contracts and when he returned to Australia he moved his company to Sydney. By 1883, Wimble had had enough of the printing business and moved to

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 ...

hoping to become a ''"sugar baron"''. He bought land in the area but soon returned to printing as founder of the

Cairns Post ''The Cairns Post'' is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland, Australia, that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftouts co ...

. In 1885 he was elected as an

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to his local council. He reportedly spent £7000 on a campaign to be elected to the

seat of Cairns and was elected on 5 May 1888, beating Richard Kingsford. On 16 August 1890, during his term in office, he married Marian Sarah Benjamin. They had three children and they remained married until her death in 1933. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly until 1893 when he stood down and was replaced by future

Premier of Queensland 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 ap ...

Thomas Joseph Byrnes Thomas Joseph Byrnes (11 November 1860 – 27 September 1898) was Premier of Queensland from April 1898 until his death in September of the same year, having previously served in several ministerial positions in his parliamentary career.Rosemar ...

. He returned to printing and publishing with the production of ''Wimble's Reminder''; as much a catalog as a magazine which ran from 1906 until 1957 (well after his death). In 1924 he published an autobiography, ''Climbing the Ladder''. Wimble was an active Freemason and a member of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales. Wimble died on 3 January 1936 in Artarmon, Sydney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimble, Frederick 1846 births 1936 deaths Australian printmakers Australian newspaper editors Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Freemasons