Peter Airey (9 January 1865 – 10 August 1950) was a

Treasurer of Queensland The Treasurer of Queensland is the title held by the Cabinet minister who is responsible for the Queensland Treasury, and by extension, all financial matters of the Queensland Government. List of Queensland treasurers See also *Politics of ...

, a member of 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 ...

, and 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 h ...

. Airey was also known as a poet and as a short story writer, publishing a number of pieces in various periodicals from 1888.

Early life

Airey was born at Barrow-in Furness, Lancashire, in 1865 to Peter Airey and his wife Mary (née Akrigg). After his mother died, he travelled to Maryborough, Queensland with his father and brother in 1875. Three years later he was a pupil-teacher at Bundaberg North before being appointed an assistant teacher at Maryborough in 1883.Airey, Peter (1865–1950)
– Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 15 March 2015. Airey then taught at several schools across southern and central Queensland including

Bundamba Bundamba is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the Bundamba had a population of 6,514 people. Geography The Bremer River forms the western part of the suburb's northern boundary. The Warrego Highway enter ...

, Rockhampton, Mount Morgan,

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits unde ...

, and

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 ...

. He became president of the East Moreton Teachers' Association and led his colleagues in publicly demanding substantial salary increases. In February 1901, Airey was sent to

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

as head-teacher, allegedly as punishment for his demands.

Political career

Representing the Labour Party, Airey was elected unopposed for the seat of Flinders. He was soon Whip and secretary of the parliamentary Labour Party and in 1903 he was elected the party leader and president of the central political executive. Appointed Secretary for Mines & Public Works for nine days in 1904, Airey was then made Home Secretary, and remained in this role till July 1907. Having left the Labour party for the "

Kidstonites The Kidstonites or Kidston party were a political party in the Australian state of Queensland in 1907 to 1908, formed by William Kidston. The party resulted from a split in the Queensland Labor Party and spent most of its existence in government ...

", he was defeated at the

1907 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 18 May 1907 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election was the first one in which women had a right to vote. The election was the first held since Prem ...

by John May but was almost immediately appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council, remaining there for six months until he resigned to successfully contest the seat of Brisbane South at the extraordinary

1908 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 5 February 1908 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election, held less than 9 months after the previous election, was made necessary by a series of eve ...

. Airey was made Treasurer in February 1908 but was dropped from cabinet in October 1908 and, losing his seat in 1909, he retired from state politics. He was a member of the Cleveland Shire Council in 1924–27 and then quit politics altogether.

Writing career

Airey was a very prolific poet writing under the pen-names "P. Luftig", "Philander Flam" and "Furness Born" as well as his own, although no collection of his works has been published to date. '' The Bulletin'' described his verse in 1904 as "a task entered upon as doggedly and conscientiously as the correction of school exercises and with as little poetic inspiration", but admitted occasional flights of something better.

Personal life

Airey married Martha Watts Lintern in 1897 and together had 9 children. He retired to

Birkdale Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...

and died there in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airey, Peter Treasurers of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian poets 1865 births 1950 deaths People from Redland City