Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a

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businessman and politician who was

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 ...

from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.

Early life

Philp was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, the second son of John Philp, a

lime-kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take p ...

operator, and Mary Ann Philp (''née'' Wylie). He emigrated 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 ...

with his parents and siblings in 1862, where his father took a lease on the municipal baths, and later became involved in the cattle and sugar industries. Philp was educated at the National (Normal) School until 1863 when he started work at Bright Bros & Co shipping company, before moving to

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in 1874 to take up the position of junior partner in the trading company Burns, Philp and Company. Burns, Philp & Co acted as agents and provisioners for the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

and

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industries that sustained Northern Queensland, and Philp served as manager of the Townsville office. Beginning in 1881, Philp diverted some of the company's vessels to the labour trade, recruiting South Pacific Islanders (known as

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Queensland (Australia) in the 19t ...

) to work as indentured labourers on the canefields, despite the reservations of his business partner James Burns. A royal commission into recruiting practices in 1885 coincided with a downturn in the sugar industry, and as a result the company's vessels were returned to other commercial operations. While this affair had been profitable for Burns, Philp, it did not contribute significantly to later commercial success, although it would not be Philp's last interest in the South Pacific labour trade. Despite the success of Burns, Philp & Co, Philp made some poor personal investments, such as his loss of £5000 on the "Comet" mine. Like many others he was affected by the economic depression of the 1890s, borrowing £20,000 to purchase property in Brisbane which three years later was valued at only £16,230. He also owed considerable sums of money to the North Queensland Mortgage & Investment Co., as well as holding a £5000 mortgage with respect to other properties. Although Burns tried to assist him, Philp was forced to sell his shares in Burns, Philp & Co in 1893, and was still in financial difficulty as late as 1898, although by this stage he had restricted his business ventures to more conservative investments. When the business-friendly McIlwraith government lost office in 1883 it was succeeded by the Liberal government of

Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...

that sought to end the trade in

. As a prominent businessman who had served several times on the local council Philp was active in bankrolling and supporting candidates in opposition to Griffith. He supported the growing movement for the separation of North Queensland from the rest of the colony.

Early parliamentary career

Philp entered 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 ...

in 1886 as Member for Musgrave. He supported the North Queensland separatists in their unsuccessful attempts to gain independence, but spent most of his early parliamentary career preoccupied with his business affairs. His seat of Musgrave was abolished and in 1888 he was successfully returned as one of the two members for the electorate of Townsville. His parliamentary activity was mainly in support of North Queensland and his business interests – extending railway links to North Queensland, and the abolition of import tariffs. When the import of Pacific islanders was temporarily halted in 1892 Philp was instrumental in securing its resumption.

Premier and opposition leader

Philp was a prolific speculator and in 1893 he was forced by debt to resign from the board of directors of Burns, Philp. In May of the same year McIlwraith, now governing in coalition with Griffith in what was known as the "Continuous Ministry", appointed Philp as Minister for Mines. He held several other ministerial posts, such as Public Instruction, Railways, Public Works and

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until 1899. when the Continuous Ministry was briefly unseated by the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

government of

Anderson Dawson Andrew Dawson (16 July 1863 – 20 July 1910), usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week (1–7 December) in 1899. This short-lived premiership was the first Australian Labor Party go ...

. Philp was an able administrator. He codified mining regulations and encouraged the private development of railways throughout the colony. The railway construction process was alleged to be corrupt by the Labor members, and after narrowly winning a vote of confidence in November 1899

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 ...

resigned as Premier. Dawson's government lasted a week before losing Parliamentary support and Philp, despite his protestations in support of Dickson, was chosen as Premier by his colleagues. The Australian colonies federated in 1901 and the new Prime Minister

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

immediately ended the trade in Kanakas. By this stage Queensland was severely depleted in revenue, and Federation exacerbated this situation by depriving Queensland of excise and customs funds. Despite a severe drought and the dire state of the state's finances, Philp was re-elected in 1902. Discontent brewed among Ministerialists who were bitter at missing out on Cabinet positions, and in August 1903

Digby Denham Digby Frank Denham (25 January 1859 – 10 May 1944) was a politician and businessman in Queensland, Australia. He was a Premier of Queensland and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was the first of only two Queensland Premiers t ...

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with supporters to bring down the government and form a coalition led by

Arthur Morgan Arthur Morgan may refer to: * Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856) (1856–1916), Premier of Queensland, Australia * Arthur Ernest Morgan (1878–1975), American administrator, educator and engineer * Arthur Morgan (Australian politici ...

. Philp, with his genial nature, was ill-suited to the position of

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, and showed little enthusiasm in attacking the new government. Morgan briefly lost control of the Legislative Assembly in 1904 and Philp was called upon by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sir Herbert Chermside to form a ministry, but could not secure sufficient support from among his colleagues. The end result was a dissolution of Parliament and a solid defeat of the Opposition. Philp resumed his position as Leader and his conciliatory treatment of the government continued when fellow Scot

William Kidston William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911. Early life William Kidston was born in Fa ...

became Premier. Philp cultivated good relations with Kidston and helped foster the increasing gap between Kidston and the Labor movement. Philp's party was again unsuccessful in the elections of 1907. Kidston was encountering difficulties in securing the passage of his legislation through the intransigent Legislative Council and after

Lord Chelmsford Viscount Chelmsford, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, the former Viceroy of India. The title of Baron Chelmsford, of Chelm ...

as Governor refused Kidston's request to appoint sufficient new councillors so as to give Kidston a majority, he resigned in November. Lord Chelmsford commissioned Philp as Premier, but, unable to entice any of Kidston's supporters to his cause, he remained without a majority in the Legislative Assembly, which promptly blocked supply. Over Kidston's protests, Lord Chelmsford guaranteed supply through the issuing of writs and then dissolved the Assembly, but Philp failed to win the subsequent election. In 1908 Kidston, alienated from the Labor party, relied on Philp's support to pass legislation approving construction of private railways. By October the two leaders had sufficient in common that they negotiated a merger of their two parties, ending Philp's career as Opposition Leader.

Later life

Philp remained in parliament, and also returned to tending his business interests. He enjoyed the status that his long parliamentary career gave him and participated in the foundation of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1912. He was a member of the University's first Senate, and its representative at a conference of universities in Glasgow in 1912. Philp lost his seat by a small margin in the Labor landslide of 1915 but remained active in politics, campaigning for the conscription referendums of the

First World War 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 ...

and leading the resistance to the abolition of the Legislative Council. In 1920 he led a delegation to London which thwarted Premier Ted Theodore's attempts to gain loans from London financiers to fund government expenditure. On 17 June 1922 he died in Brisbane and was buried at

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 cemet ...

Family

Philp married Jessie Banister Campbell (daughter of prominent Brisbane businessman

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Americ ...

) in 1878; she died in 1890. In 1898 he married Wilhelmina Fraser Munro; she died in 1940

References