John James Kingsbury (1853 – 2 August 1939) was a crown prosecutor and member of 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 h ...

Early years

Kingsbury was born and educated in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland, graduating with a Master of Arts from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. He arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in 1878 where he helped start up a business, Henry Brookes & Co. Kingsbury 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 ...

in the 1880s as manager of Beale and Co. and in 1886 became a director of the

Queensland Deposit Bank The Bank of Queensland (branded BOQ) is an Australian retail bank with headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland. The bank is one of the oldest financial institutions in Queensland, having begun as a building society. It now has 163 branches through ...

before returning to Ireland in 1887 for a year.

Political career

For the 1893 Queensland elections, Kingsbury with his knowledge of finance, was asked to stand as a Ministerialist candidate alongside

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 ...

for the seat of Brisbane North. The pair were successful in the two member seat, convincingly defeating their opponents,

Charles Lilley Sir Charles Lilley (27 August 1827 – 20 August 1897) was a Premier and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He had a significant influence on the form and spirit of state education in colonial Queensland which lasted well into the ...

Thomas Glassey Thomas Glassey (26 February 1844 – 28 September 1936) was an Irish-born Australian politician. Born in Markethill, County Armagh, he received no formal education, working as a mill-worker and miner in Scotland and England. He migrated ...

and Nathaniel Raven. Kingsbury held the seat until the 1896 elections, where he lost to Robert Fraser who also claimed to be a Ministerialist candidate. Whilst in politics, Kingsbury took up law and in 1896 was appointed Crown Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Personal life

Kingsbury married Elizabeth Jane Ham (died 1919), eldest daughter of David Ham of Ballarat, in November 1879 and together had three sons and one daughter. He was a former President of the Queensland Irish Association and played a leading part in the affairs on the

Albert Street Methodist Church Albert Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed church at 319 Albert Street (on the corner of Ann Street), Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by George Henry Male Addison and built from 1888 to 1889 by ...

. Kingsbury died in

Glen Iris Glen Iris may refer to: *Glen Iris, Victoria, Australia *Glen Iris, Western Australia A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whit ...

, Victoria, in August 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsbury, John James Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1853 births 1939 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Politicians from Queensland Irish emigrants to colonial Australia