John Adamson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(18 February 1857 – 2 May 1922) was an English-born Australian politician.Adamson, John (1857–1922)
– ''

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 ...

Early life

Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, he received a primary education before becoming a shoemaker, blacksmith and lay preacher. He migrated to Australia in 1878, becoming a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister in

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 , established_ ...

Politics

At the 1907 election, Adamson was elected to 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 ...

as the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for Maryborough, serving until 2 October 1909 (the 1909 election). On 25 February 1911, he was elected as the member for

Rockhampton 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 ...

, serving until 21 March 1917. He was Secretary for Railways from 1 June 1915 to 2 October 1916. Adamson left the Labor Party in the wake of the 1916 split over

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, joining the National Party. In 1919, he was part of the formation of a brief-lived state

National Labor Party The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pri ...

and then he was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a Nationalist Senator for Queensland. He served in the Senate from 1 July 1920 until his death on 2 May 1922. Following his death, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

(then controlled by the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

) appointed John MacDonald, a Labor member, as his replacement.Adamson Index of Senate appointments 1901-2003
— Psephos: Adam Carr's Electoral Archive

Death

Adamson died in 1922 after he fell in front of a train at

Hendra railway station Hendra railway station is located on the Pinkenba line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Hendra. History Hendra station opened on 3 September 1882 coinciding with that of the Pinkenba railway line. The line was elec ...

. Reports at the time suggested suicide as he had been suffering from illness and depression for some time. He was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

which proceeded from 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 ...

to the

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 ...

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, John Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate 1857 births 1922 suicides Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Burials at Toowong Cemetery 20th-century Australian politicians Suicides by train Suicides in Queensland Australian politicians who committed suicide National Party (Queensland, 1917) members of the Parliament of Queensland English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Methodist ministers ar:جون آدامسون