William Frederick Taylor (27 April 1840 – 29 June 1927) was an Australian surgeon and 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 ...

Early life

Taylor was born in 1840 in London, England to Joseph Taylor, a Canadian engineer, and his wife Hannah (née Lambert). The family soon moved to Canada and he was educated at Kingston Grammar School and Queen's University, Kingston where he graduated in medicine with honours.

Medical career

In 1862, Taylor returned to England and became Licentiate of the Apothecaries Society in London. Before long he sailed to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1863 and shortly afterwards moved to Hay, New South Wales, where commenced practice as a surgeon. In 1866 Taylor was back in London, working at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

and moving to Paris to work at the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris and Hôpital de la Charité. He went back to England and became a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

before once again leaving for Australia. From 1870 Taylor practised in Queensland, initially in Clermont before moving to

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, also acting as visiting doctor at the local hospital and being elected to the local council 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 ...

. In 1883 he returned to England for further training in

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

and ear, nose and throat surgery. He returned to Queensland as one of only a few specialists with similar training, and was appointed honorary ophthalmologist at Brisbane Hospital in 1888. In 1911 he was appointed consultant ophthalmologist at

Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Brisbane Mater Group was formed in 2016 by aligning Mater Health, Mater Education, Mater Research and Mater Foundation under a single, unified banner. Mater provides care for some 500,000 patients each year. Mater was established in 1906 by the Sisters o ...

. Taylor was a founding member of the Medical Society of Queensland in 1882 and in 1894 became the founding president of the Queensland branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

Political career

Taylor was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in April 1886, serving for 36 years till it was abolished in 1922. During this time he was chairman of committees, holding the role from September 1913 till November 1920. He took every opportunity to promote up-to-date hygiene methods for the community.

Personal life

While in Clermont in 1873, Taylor married Isabella Graham, the daughter of John Graham. They had five children, including one daughter who went on to marry

Ernest Bell Ernest Thomas Bell (31 March 1880 – 2 May 1930) was a pastoralist and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Bell was born in Camboon, Queensland, to parents John Thomas Marsh Bell and his wife Gertrude Augusta (née Nor ...

, the future member for Fassifern. Taylor died in May 1930. His funeral moved from 'Rolyat', his residence in Ashgrove, to the Toowong Cemetery.Taylor William Frederick
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 12 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1840 births 1927 deaths British emigrants to Australia Australian ophthalmologists Queen's University at Kingston alumni