Sir Horace Tozer (23 April 1844 – 20 August 1916)
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'' was an Australian lawyer and politician. 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, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former electoral div ...

Early life

Tozer was son of H. T. N. Tozer, and was born at

Port Macquarie, New South Wales Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

, in April 1844. Educated at the Collegiate School, Newcastle, he was admitted to practise as a solicitor at Brisbane in 1866. He settled at

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 ...

, established a successful practice. He married twice, in 1868 at

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to Mary Hoyles Wilson (who died in Ipswich in 1878), and in 1880 to Louisa Lord (who died in London in 1908).

Political life

In the 1871 election held on 13 July, the sitting member for Wide Bay in 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 ...

Henry Edward King Henry Edward King (9 June 1832 – 5 February 1910) was a politician in colonial Queensland, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland 1876 to 1883. King was born in Mount Coote, Limerick, Ireland, son of John Wingfield King and his w ...

, decided to contest the electoral district of Maryborough instead of Wide Bay. King supported the nomination of Horace Tozer for Wide Bay, amidst allegations that Tozer was just a "warming pan" intended to hold the seat as a protection against King failing to win Maryborough. Tozer was elected in Wide Bay but King's bid for Maryborough failed. The allegations of Tozer being a "warming pan" proved true as Tozer promptly resigned, recommending that the electors of Wide Bay should elect King at the subsequent by-election. King's nomination was unopposed and he was declared elected on 4 October 1871. In 1880, Tozer was elected was an alderman in Gympie's first town council. On 17 May 1888 he was elected again as the member for Wide Bay, and was colonial secretary in the second

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ministry from August 1890 to March 1893, held the same position in the McIlwraith–

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

ministry until October 1893, and was home secretary in the Nelson ministry until March 1898. In 1895, he brought in a very moderate shops early closing bill which passed the assembly but was rejected by the legislative council. In the following year, however, he succeeded in passing a factories and shops act which, though it did not go very far, was important on account of its being the first Queensland act regulating hours and conditions. In the same year under his direction the public library and the national art gallery were founded at Brisbane. He was created K.C.M.G. in 1897. On 2 March 1898, he resigned his seat in order to be appointed as Agent-General for Queensland. He held the position with ability until 1909, when he retired on account of failing health.

Later years and death

He returned to Queensland and died at the home of his daughter, Amy Lavinia Norton in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

on 20 August 1916. He was survived by two sons and two daughters. A private funeral was held and he was buried in

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 ...

.Tozer Sir Horace
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 29 January 2015. His son

Vivian Tozer Vivian Hoyles Tozer (1870–1954) was a solicitor and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Early life Vivian Hoyles Tozer was born on 27 May 1870 in Gympie, the son of Horace Tozer (a ...

also served in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing Gympie. Tozer's legal offices in Gympie ( Tozer's Building) is listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tozer 1844 births 1916 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Burials at Toowong Cemetery Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly