John Douglas (6 March 1828 – 23 July 1904) was an

Anglo-Australian English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wheth ...

politician and

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 ...

Early life

Douglas was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the seventh son of Henry Alexander Douglas and his wife Elizabeth Dalzell, daughter of the

Earl of Carnwath The title Earl of Carnwath is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created together with the subsidiary title of Lord Dalzell and Liberton, on 21 April 1639 for Robert Dalzell, 2nd Lord Dalzell. His father, Sir Robert Dalzell, had been raised ...

. His father, the third son of Sir William Douglas, 4th Baronet of Kelhead, was a brother of the sixth and

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Marquesses of Queensberry. Douglas' parents died in 1837, he was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

1843-47 and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

where he graduated

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1850. Douglas arrived in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

with his brother Edward in 1851 and was appointed a gold-fields commissioner, but gave this up to enter on a pastoral life.

Politics

Douglas was elected member for the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

and afterwards for Camden in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

until resigning on 17 July 1861. He 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 , established_ ...

in 1863. On 12 May 1863 he was elected as member for

Port Curtis Port Curtis is a suburb of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Port Curtis had a population of 281 people. Geography The Fitzroy River bounds the suburb to the north-east. Gavial Creek, a tributary of the ...

in 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 ...

. He resigned on 1 February 1866, in order to be appointed on to the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

, which occurred on 22 February 1866. On 1 March 1866 became postmaster-general in the first

Macalister Macalister, MacAlister, MacAllister and their variants are forms of a Gaelic surname which means 'son of Alisdair'. The name originated in Scotland and belonged to a branch of the Clan Donald; they became an independent clan in 1493. From about the ...

ministry. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly again as member for Eastern Downs. He took the portfolio of colonial treasurer in the second Macalister ministry in December 1866, but in May 1867 changed this position for that of secretary for public works. He was postmaster-general in the

Charles Lilley Sir Charles Lilley (27 August 1827 – 20 August 1897) was a Premier of Queensland, 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 whi ...

ministry from December 1868 to November 1869, when he resigned to become Agent-General for Queensland in London. In 1871 Douglas returned to Queensland and became insolvent on 23 February 1872. Douglas was returned for Maryborough at the election held in 1875. He was secretary for public lands in the

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

ministry from June 1876 until March 1877, when he became premier and was given the honour of C.M.G. His party was defeated at the election held in January 1879 and Douglas gave up politics. Lewis Adolphus Bernays claimed Douglas had more success as a clever political wire-puller behind the scenes than he had in parliament.

Later life

In 1865

Augustus Charles Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

Maurice Charles O'Connell Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell KCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of colonial New South Wales. Early life Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career ...

and Douglas applied for a special grant of land to erect a

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

in Brisbane. This was granted on 15 January 1865. He was for some time on the literary staff of the ''

Brisbane Courier ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'', and in 1885 was appointed government resident and magistrate at

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

. After the death of Sir

Peter Scratchley Major General Sir Peter Henry Scratchley (24 August 1835 – 2 December 1885) was special commissioner for Great Britain in New Guinea 1884–1885 and defence adviser for Australia. Biography Scratchley was born in Paris, thirteenth child of Dr ...

in December 1885 Douglas acted as special commissioner for the protectorate of British

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

for nearly three years (1886–88), and showed tact and ability in his dealings with the local inhabitants. In 1888 Douglas returned to his old position on Thursday Island. He visited England in 1902 and on his return continued his work until his death.

Personal life

Douglas was married twice, first on 22 January 1861 to Mary Ann, daughter of the Rev. William West Simpson, who was killed in a carriage accident 23 November 1876, and for the second time in 1877 to Sarah, daughter of Michael Hickey, with whom he had four sons: *

Robert Johnstone Douglas The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1883–1972), was appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

in 1923 and married Annie Alice May Ball, daughter of Townsville pioneer Andrew Ball * Edward Archibald Douglas (1877–1947), was appointed a judge of the

in March 1929 * Henry Alexander Cecil Douglas (1879–1917), a 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 ...

. * Hugh Maxwell Douglas (1881–1918), died 8 April 1918 aged 37, a lieutenant in 47th Battalion,

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

, while fighting in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at Dernacourt in France. Douglas died on 23 July 1904 at Thursday Island.

Descendants

Through his son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, he was a grandfather of Alexander Michael Douglas (b. 1926), and a great-grandfather of Alexander Rodney Douglas, formerly a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly seat of Gaven.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, John 1828 births 1904 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Rugby School Premiers of Queensland Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian people of Scottish descent English people of Scottish descent Alumni of University College, Durham Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Treasurers of Queensland 19th-century Australian politicians Gold commissioners 19th-century Australian public servants English emigrants to colonial Australia