William Henley Rawlings (28 February 1848 – 5 August 1906) was a member of both 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 ...

and the

Queensland Legislative Assembly 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 Assembly ...

Early life

Rawlings was born near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, to William Rawlings and his wife Margaret Eliza (née Edwards). Trained for the sea, he sailed to

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 ...

in 1869 and on to New Zealand where he engaged in seafaring on the west coast for several years. In 1875, he was back in Australia and working as a miner in the

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

goldfields. Moving to

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_ ...

and settling in the

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...

district in 1883, he undertook several jobs including labourer, assayer, miner, and

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

. By 1890, he was working as an Organiser for the Charters Towers Miners' Union.

Political career and death

Rawlings was nominated as the Labour Party candidate for the seat of Woothakata in the 1893 colonial election. Victorious over his competitors William Little and W.M. Bonar, he held the seat for three years before losing to John Newell in the 1896 election. Rawlings was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in July 1906 but served for less than a month before his death in August of that year. His funeral proceeded from the home of

Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to: * Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books * Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist ...

at Spring Hill to

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * Parliament House, Darwin, Parliame ...

, and then on to the

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 ...

.Rawlings William Henry
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 27 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlings, William Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Burials at Toowong Cemetery Colony of Queensland people 1848 births 1906 deaths People from Bristol British emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 19th-century Australian politicians