Thomas Blacket Stephens (5 January 1819 – 26 August 1877) was a wealthy Brisbane businessman and newspaper proprietor who also served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

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 ...

,Brisbane City Council Archives a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of 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 ...

and 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 ...

Personal life

Thomas Blacket Stephens home, Cumbooquepa, South Brisbane, Queensland

Thomas Blacket Stephens was born on 5 January 1819 at

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, the son of Rev. William Stephens (a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister) and his wife Elizabeth (née Blacket). On 6 September 1848 Thomas emigrated from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on the ship 'Bengal' arriving 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 ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

on 12 February 1849. His cousin

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn. Arriving in Sydney from Engl ...

was the Colonial Architect in Sydney. Thomas married Anne Connah in Balmain,

at the home of his cousin, Edmund Blacket, in 1856. The couple moved to

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

, now

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 had 12 children in Brisbane (4 of whom died in infancy). Their children were:Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Queensland *

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1857–1925), a Member of the

* Emily (1860–1918) * Marian (1862–1862) * Elizabeth (1863–1940, Mrs Lang) * Richard (1865–1865) * Laura (1866–1952) * Thomas Connah (1868–1937) * Henry (1869–1870) * Sophia (1870–1956, Mrs Robertson) * Anne (1872–16 January 1872) * Llewellyn (1873–1934) * Stephen (1875–1958) In 1860, Thomas erected a two-storey house in South Brisbane called 'Cumbooquepa' from the Aboriginal name for the waterholes on the land. In November 1874, Thomas became seriously ill, possibly cholera acquired from a ship visiting from India. Although he recovered somewhat from his illness, he remained weak and in May 1875 retired from many of his duties and made his will. Thomas died from congestion of the lungs, following some years of poor health following a serious illness in 1874, at his residence 'Cumbooquepa' on 26 August 1877 and was buried in

South Brisbane Cemetery South Brisbane Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at 21 Fairfield Road and Annerley Road, Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the Brisbane River. It was built from 1870 to 1990s. It is also known as Dutton Par ...

the following day. In 1890, his widow Anne built a newer home ' Cumbooquepa' above Vulture Street on the property at

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

. This house was later purchased in 1919 as the

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for the Brisbane girls' school

Somerville House Somerville House is an Independent school, independent, Boarding school, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Es ...

and is now

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

. It is often stated that Thomas built or occupied this 'Cumbooquepa', but he is only associated with the earlier house. Widow Anne died on 12 July 1904 at 'Cumbooquepa' and was buried with her husband in

Business life

He had a number of companies as well as interest in land development. His first business in Brisbane is believed to be a woolscour at

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...

near

. In 1856 he purchased land at Stones Corner near

Ekibin Tarragindi is a southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is represented through the Holland Park Ward, Holland Park and Moorooka Ward councillors on the Brisbane City Council. At the ...

Creek and established a woolscour. The following year (1857) he purchased some adjacent land at Annerley and established a

fellmonger A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English ‘fell’ meaning skins and ‘monger’ meaning dealer. Fellmongery is one of the oldest pro ...

y and

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

business in Essie Street. Thomas purchased ''The Moreton Bay Courier'' sometime in late 1859 and he soon turned it into a daily newspaper, the ''Courier''. In 1864 it became the ''Brisbane Courier''. In June–July 1868, he floated the Brisbane Newspaper Company, and transferred the plant and copyright of the ''Brisbane Courier'' to it. He was the managing director until he retired in November 1873, when the paper was auctioned.

Public service

Thomas was an

from 1859 to 1864 and was

in 1862 of the

. He served on a number of committees: * Finance Committee 1860, 1861 * Improvement Committee 1860–1863 * Incorporation Committee 1862,1864 * Water Committee 1862–1864 * Bridge Committee 1862–1864 * Legislative Committee 1863, 1864 * Brisbane Board of Waterworks 1866–1877 From 10 June 1863 to 13 May 1875 Thomas was the elected

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former electoral div ...

(lower house) for the electorate of the Town of South Brisbane.Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2009 and of the Legislative Council 1860–1922
He held many senior positions in the government including" * Colonial Treasurer: 21 May 1867 – 15 August 1867 * Secretary for Trade and Finance: 21 May 1867 - * Colonial Secretary: 25 November 1868 – 28 January 1869 * Colonial Treasurer: 27 January 1869 – 3 May 1870 * Postmaster-General: 13 November 1869 – 28 January 1870 * Secretary for Public Lands: 8 January 1874 – 27 May 1875 In May 1875, he retired from public life due to an ongoing illness contracted in November 1874. On 22 July 1876, he was appointed a life Member of the Legislative Council of

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_ ...

(upper house) until his death on 26 August 1877. Around 1864 to 1875 he served on the various education boards (Board of National Education, General Board of Education, Board of General Education), retiring due to his illness in May 1875. He was also one of the first people on the board of trustees at

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

. He was a director of the South Brisbane

Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

' Weekly Penny Savings Bank in 1874. He was one of the original trustees of

and was buried there upon his death in 1877.Stephens, Thomas Blackett
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 5 November 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Thomas Blacket Mayors and Lord Mayors of Brisbane Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Treasurers of Queensland 1819 births 1877 deaths Burials in South Brisbane Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians Pre-Separation Queensland