William Fryar (25 January 1828 – 22 December 1912) was an early Australian

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, politician, businessman and mining inspector in

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_ ...

, Australia.

Biography

Fryar was born on 25 January 1828 at Willington, Northumberland, England, the son of Thomas Fryar (mining engineer), and his wife Mary Ann, née Scott. He immigrated to Queensland, Australia in 1853. At intervals between 1864 and 1882, Fryar worked in the

Lands Department The Lands Department is a government department under the Development Bureau responsible for all land matters in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, it comprises three functional offices: the Lands Administration Office, the Survey and Mapping Off ...

as a licensed surveyor in the south-eastern regions of Maroochy and

Mooloolah Mooloolah Valley is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mooloolah Valley had a population of 3,321 people. Mooloolah is a town () within the locality. Geography Mooloolah Valley is in the Sunshine ...

. In 1869, Fryar went into partnership with James Strachan and established the first

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar. The term is also used to refer to the equipment that crushes the sticks of sugar cane to extract the juice. Processing There are a number of steps in pro ...

on the river at

Loganholme Loganholme is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , Loganholme had a population of 6,303 people. The majority of the land is used for houses while it has range of other uses. Geograp ...

. This was initially a very successful business that employed up to 100 men at crushing time. However, they were declared

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet inso ...

in 1876, because of problems with the delivery of new equipment from

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 ...

. Fryar returned to his occupation as a surveyor. On 18 November 1873, he joined the seventh

Queensland parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral s ...

as the member for East Moreton in the Legislative Assembly where he was mainly interested in land policy. In May 1875, Fryar replaced Thomas Stephens who resigned as the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

for Lands in the third

Arthur Macalister Arthur Macalister, (18 January 1818 – 23 March 1883) was three times Premier of Queensland, Australia. Early life Macalister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Macalister, a cabinet maker, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Scoullar. M ...

ministry, until its fall on 5 June 1876. He remained the member for East Moreton until he resigned in 1877, again returning to surveying. In 1882, Fryar became the first Queensland inspector of mines and held the senior post, the Southern Division, until he retired in June 1904. He had become one of the first directors of the Queensland Evangelical Standard, a Dissenting weekly of strong political character, established on 10 June 1875. In 1857 at Brisbane he had married Margaret Louisa Lewis. Of their ten children only two sons and two daughters survived him. Fryar died in

Coorparoo Coorparoo is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Coorparoo had a population of 16,282 people. Geography Coorparoo is by road south-east of the Brisbane GPO. It borders Camp Hill, Holland Park, Stones Corner ...

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 ...

on 22 December 1912 and was buried in

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 ...

.Fryar William
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 17 May 2014.

Career highlights

* 1853 Arrived in Queensland, Australia * 1864 – 1882 Licensed Surveyor with the Queensland Lands Department (multiple non-successive posts) * 1874 – 1877 Independent Member for East Moreton in the Legislative Assembly * 1875 – 1876 Secretary for Public Lands * 1882 – 1904 First Queensland Inspector of Mines

Legacy

* Fryar Street in Camp Hill,

, was named after the family. * Fryar Creek, which runs into

Baroon Pocket Dam The Baroon Pocket Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Obi Obi Creek, in North Maleny, Sunshine Coast Region, in South East Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water sup ...

, was named after William Fryar. * Fryar Road in

Eagleby, Queensland Eagleby (formerly Philadelphia) is a suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagleby had a population of 13,326 people. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Int ...

, was named after Willian Fryar.

Bibliography

* Morrison, A.A. (1881). Religion and Politics in Queensland. ''Historical Society of Queensland''. Vol 4, no 4, December 1951, pp 455–70. * Stoodley, June. (1964). ''The Queensland Gold-Miner in the Late Nineteenth Century''. M.A. thesis, University of Queensland. * Gaylord, M. (1967). ''Economic Development in the Maroochy District until 1915''. B.A. thesis, University of Queensland. * Fryar, William (1895). The development and progress of mining and geology in Queensland. ''Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science Report''. Volume 6, 1895, pp. 361–375.

References

* Stoodley, June (2006). Fryar, William (1828–1912). ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'': Online Edition. Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, p. 223. Retrieved 27 December 2008. * Bennett & Francis (2008). About Us: Cyril Fryar Bennett. Retrieved 27 December 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryar, William 1828 births 1912 deaths History of Queensland Burials at Toowong Cemetery Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly