Peter Alfred McLachlan (23 September 1867 – 27 October 1929) was a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

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 ...

Biography

McLachlan was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to parents Andrew McLachlan and his wife Catherine (née McTavish). He came 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_ ...

with his family in 1873 and attended

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 ...

Catholic School. On leaving school he became an apprentice printer, working for ''

The Gympie Times ''The Gympie Times'' is an online newspaper serving Gympie in Queensland, Australia. The newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia and was published from Monday to Saturday but ceased printed publication in June of 2020. The final printed ed ...

'' and then the ''Eidsvold Register''. He then moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and found work as a journeyman with the Queensland Government Printing Office. In 1892 he married Mary Donnelly. Awarded the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

by the pope, McLachlan died after entering the Mater Misericordiae Hospital to undergo an operation in October 1929. His funeral proceeded from St Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane to the

Lutwyche Cemetery Lutwyche Cemetery is a cemetery located at Kedron, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It opened in 1878 and saw its first burial in the same year. It is located at the corner of Gympie and Kitchener Roads, approximately ten kilometres north of B ...

Public career

At the 1908 Queensland state election, McLachlan, for the Labour Party, and along with David Bowman, won the two member seat of

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestr ...

. He was the member until

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

when the seat reverted to a one-member constituency and McLachlan then contested the new seat of

Merthyr Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. He lost by four votes to the Ministerialist candidate,

Thomas Welsby Thomas (Tom) Welsby (29 November 1858 – 3 February 1941) was an Australian businessman, author, politician, and sportsman based in Queensland. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1911 to 1915. Early life Born in Ipswi ...

but three years later, at the

1915 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 22 May 1915 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election was the second for the Liberal government of Digby Denham, who had been premier since 7 Februar ...

, he won the seat, beating his opponent Mr Lackey convincingly. He lost Merthyr at the 1920 state elections to

Peter MacGregor Peter F. MacGregor (born February 24, 1966) is a Republican politician from Michigan currently serving as the Kent County Treasurer. He previously served in the Michigan Senate representing the 28th district and also was a former member of the ...

, the

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candidate but regained the seat in 1923. McLachlan was also an alderman in the

Brisbane Municipal Council The Town of Brisbane was a local government area for Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. History The Municipality of Brisbane was gazetted on 25 May 1859 and proclaimed by the Governor of New South Wales on 7 September 1859 ...

, from 1921 until 1924. He served on the Parks Committee for two of those yearsAlderman Peter Alfred McLachlan
—

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

Retrieved 1 April 2016. and was also Chairman of the council's Finance Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, Peter Alfred 1867 births 1929 deaths members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly burials at Lutwyche Cemetery politicians from Dundee