Sir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, 4th Baronet (18 April 1845 – 27 September 1892) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born journalist and politician in Australia. __NOTOC__

Early life

Cockburn-Campbell was born in Exeter, the second son of Sir Alexander Thomas Cockburn-Campbell, second Baronet, and his wife, Grace, daughter of Joseph Spence. He was educated in England and at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and travelled in Europe. Cockburn-Campbell left England for

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 , establishe ...

, Australia in 1864 where he worked with

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

as a chainman and later with other surveyors. In the late 1860s he went to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and took up farming; his father was resident magistrate at

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. In 1871 he succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his elder brother Alexander Cockburn-Campbell.

Political career

In 1873 Cockburn-Campbell was nominated a member of the old

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

and became chairman of committees. He was for some time editor of the ''West Australian'' but retired in 1887 due to ill health and was succeeded by

John Winthrop Hackett Sir John Winthrop Hackett Sr. (4 February 184819 February 1916), generally known as "Winthrop Hackett", was a proprietor and editor of several newspapers in Western Australia, a politician and a university chancellor. Early life Hackett was b ...

. In 1890 he was appointed one of the delegates sent to London to give information and assistance in connexion with the passing of the Western Australian constitution bill. He also gave evidence before the Colonization Committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. In December 1890 Campbell became a member of the new Legislative Council and was elected its first president. He died at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia on 27 September 1892. He had married in 1870 Lucy Anne, daughter of Arthur Trimmer, who survived him with two sons and four daughters. In 1882, Ferdinand von Mueller named ''

Prostanthera campbellii ''Prostanthera campbellii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with linear leaves and white to cream-coloured flowers with purple striations. Descr ...

'' in his honour.

Music

Sir Thomas composed a waltz "The Fair Maid of Perth" (1890) dedicated to Miss Margaret Brockman (Mrs P.A.Hope), published in London.

Family

Cockburn-Campbell is the great-great-grandfather of National Party MP Merome Beard.

References

* *O. K. Battye,
Cockburn-Campbell, Sir Thomas (1845 - 1892)
, '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 434–435 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn-Campbell, Thomas 1845 births 1892 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council Burials at East Perth Cemeteries Australian newspaper editors 19th-century journalists English male journalists 19th-century English male writers The West Australian 19th-century Australian politicians Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British emigrants to Australia