Robert Thomas Donaldson (1851 – 5 August 1936) was an Irish-born Australian politician.
He was born in
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...
to farmer Thomas Willett Donaldson and Barbara Shafgotch. The family emigrated to Australia around 1863 and Donaldson worked as a station hand and prospector in northern and central
Queensland. After a visit to Britain in 1878 he returned to Queensland to become a railway construction inspector. On 25 July 1882 he married Edith Meek in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. He moved to
New South Wales permanently in 1883 to become contractors manager in the construction of the
Cootamundra
Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
-
Gundagai railway. He settled in
Tumut, where he became alderman and later mayor.
In 1898 he was elected to the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the
independent member for
Tumut. He joined the
Progressive Party in 1901 and returned to independent status following that party's collapse in 1907. Having transferred to the seat of
Wynyard Wynyard may refer to:
Australia:
*Wynyard, Sydney, the district of Sydney CBD around Wynyard railway station, Sydney
*Wynyard Park, Sydney
*Wynyard, Tasmania
*County of Wynyard, in the Murrumbidgee–Tumut region of New South Wales
Canada:
*Wynya ...
in 1904, he contested
Yass
Yass may refer to:
People
* Catherine Yass (born 1963), painter
* Yazz, a British pop singer from the 1980s and 1990s
* Jeff Yass (born 1956), options trader, managing director and one of the five founders of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna I ...
in 1913 as the candidate of the
Country Party Association, but was defeated.
From 1915 to 1929 he was Inspector of Aborigines, under the auspices of the
Board for the Protection of Aborigines
Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
, in which he implemented the board's policy of removing Aboriginal children from their families, now known as the
Stolen Generations. The
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 ...
describes Donaldson as "feared and hated by two generations of Aboriginals throughout New South Wales. In particular he was never forgiven for the raid on
Cumeroogunga Aboriginal station in 1919".
Donaldson died at
Randwick in 1936 (aged 85).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Robert
1851 births
1936 deaths
Colony of Queensland people
Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Stolen Generations