Henry Jeffries (13 August 1889 – 22 April 1971) was an Australian politician. He served three terms as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

from 1943 until 1952. Jeffries was first elected to

Rockhampton City Council The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local go ...

as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in 1939, before contesting the 1943 election vying for the position of mayor at the age of 53, representing the Civic Advancement Party. He won the election, narrowly beating incumbent Robert William Evans. Jeffries won the subsequent elections in 1946 and 1949. His legacy includes overseeing the commencement of construction of Rockhampton's

Fitzroy Bridge The Fitzroy Bridge was a suspension bridge that spanned the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia from 1881 until it was demolished in 1956. Construction work on the bridge commenced in March 1877. The bridge consisted of bot ...

turning the first sod Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

at the construction site in 1945. Jeffries also had an ambitious plan to redevelop the Fitzroy riverbank in the Rockhampton CBD for recreational use. Jeffries decided not to contest the 1952 local government elections, and was succeeded by Rex Pilbeam. Jeffries married Violet Underwood on 17 February 1914 at the Rockhampton Baptist Tabernacle. Prior to his career in local government, Jeffries had been employed for 25 years in the administration offices of the

Queensland Railways Department 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 ...

in Rockhampton.(31 March 1943
Three seek mayoral post
''The Morning Bulletin''. Retrieved 21 May 2020. His sporting interests included

rifle shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms ( firearms and airguns, in forms suc ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. He died on 22 April 1971.Death registration: Henry Jeffries, Death date: 22 April 1971, Mother: Ellen Thomas, Father: Frederick William Jeffries, Registration details: 1971/C/3153
Births, Deaths, Marriages & Divorce, Queensland Government. Accessed 21 May 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Henry 1889 births 1971 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Mayors of places in Queensland