Michael Brennan Gannon (1847—1898) was an auctioneer and politician 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 , establishe ...

, Australia. 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 ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivis ...

Early life

Gannon was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1847, the son of James Gannon and his wife Mary (née Phelps). After working as a clerk at the Christian Brothers' College Sydney and as a commercial agent with his brother, he relocated to

in 1868. He acquired pastoral experience at Warra Warra and acted as manager for Thorn and a stockbuyer for Davenport. In 1880 he became an auctioneer in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

. In partnership with R.A. Ryan, he purchased the produce and auctioneering company of Arthur Martin in 1882. He invested in grazing and real estate. On 6 June 1884, he married Amy England Pearce in Brisbane.

Politics

Gannon unsuccessfully contested the

electoral district of Ipswich Ipswich is a Legislative Assembly of Queensland electoral district on the Brisbane River, west of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland. The electorate includes Ipswich and its suburbs, south and east of the Bremer River, west of Bu ...

in the 1881 by-election triggered by the resignation of John Malbon Thompson, but was defeated by

Josiah Francis Sir Josiah Francis (28 March 1890 – 22 February 1964) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1955. He was a minister in the Lyons and Menzies governments, serving as Minister in charge of War Se ...

, a former mayor of

. Gannon was elected to 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 ...

in the

electoral district of Toombul The electoral district of Toombul was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Queensland, Australia. History Toombul was created by the redistribution of 1887, taking effect at the 1888 colonial election, and existed until the 1932 ...

on 10 May 1888 in the 1888 colonial election. He held the seat until 29 April 1893 when he was defeated by Andrew Lang Petrie in the 1893 election. Gannon unsuccessfully contested the electoral district of Bulimba in the 1896 election, unable to defeat the sitting member

James Dickson James or Jim Dickson may refer to: Politicians *James Dickson (Scottish politician) (c. 1715–1771), MP for Lanark Burghs 1768–1771 *James Dickson (New South Wales politician) (1813–1863), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly *Ja ...

Later life

The Gannon's permanent residence was at "Waratah", Toorak Road,

Breakfast Creek The Breakfast Creek ( Aboriginal: ''Barrambin'') is a small urban stream that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Rising as the Enoggera Cre ...

. In February 1888, Michael Gannon purchased a large portion of land in the Wynnum-Manly area formerly part of Portion 57. Gannon sold off a considerable acreage of land, but retained ownership of that portion on which a residence was to be constructed. It is likely that the house was constructed as, on 30 April of that year, a Bill of Mortgage was registered from Michael Brennan Gannon to the Royal Bank of Queensland. The release for the mortgage was signed in September 1889. The house became the family's holiday home. Besides his political endeavours, Gannon was actively involved in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

's social and sporting society. In 1888, Gannon was Vice-President of the Albert

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Club,

Queensland Governor The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial funct ...

Anthony Musgrave was President; he was involved with the Queensland Rifle Association; the Brisbane Bicycling Club; the Breakfast Creek Rowing Club; a Director of the Federal Building, Land Investors Society Pty Ltd and Deposit Bank and a Justice of the Peace. During the early 1890s Gannon's speculative ventures began to fail. The Land Bank of Queensland was in possession of the land by the early 1890s and sold off smaller allotments from the block. Gannon was eventually declared bankrupt in 1895 with liabilities in excess of £97,000. Gannon died in Brisbane on 9 April 1898 aged 50 years after a protracted illness that had forced him to retire. He was buried in 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 ceme ...

on 11 April 1898. His obituaries described him as ''"universally respected for his outspokenness and the honourable motives which actuated his conduct"'' and that he would be remembered as ''"one of the most honest figures in mercantile circles; ... a man who in turn was most happy when sharing his bounty with others less prosperous. Everybody respected him, everybody trusted him. In politics, too, he was known as the 'straight man' whose first consideration was others ..."''.

Legacy

His holiday home, Michael Gannon residence, at Manly has been 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. A ...

References

Attribution

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gannon, Michael Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1848 births 1898 deaths Politicians from Sydney Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 19th-century Australian politicians