William Henry Walsh (18 December 1823 – 5 April 1888) was an Australian pioneer pastoralist or squatter and politician in early

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 ...

. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1859-1859,

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivis ...

1865–1878, and a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Council Following are lists of members 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 ...

1879–1888. He was the Queensland Minister of the Crown 1870–1873, Speaker in 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 h ...

from 6 January 1874 to 20 July 1876.

Early life

Walsh was supposedly born on 18 December 1823 at Milton, Berkshire, England, son of a solicitor, Charles Walsh, and his wife Elizabeth.

Pastoralist in New South Wales and Queensland

He migrated to Australia on the ''Mary Sharp'' arriving 11 June 1844, afterwards gaining a few years of colonial experience working for David Perrier at Bathurst. He then went north to begin a squatting career of his own. In early 1847 he set up, for his former employer, a new station on the Macintyre River in the south-eastern part of the territory of the future Queensland. Shortly thereafter he went into the northern 'unknown' with men and a large flock of sheep financed by the Sydney-based Griffith, Fanning & Co. He subsequently formed the

Degilbo Degilbo is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Degilbo had a population of 174 people. History The name ''Degilbo'' was the name of a pastoral run owned by William Henry Walsh ( ...

and Monduran stations near the present day township of

Gayndah Gayndah is a town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Gayndah had a population of 1,981 people. It is the administrative centre for the North Burnett Region. Geography Gayndah is on the Burnett River and ...

in the North Burnett. During this time he participated in a massacre in which hundreds of indigenous people were slaughtered on Paddy's Island, details of which he would give during Queensland parliamentary debate several decades later. Working still for the same company, of which he had then become a co-proprietor, Walsh went further north in July 1853. During this venture he and his men made their mark on Queensland history as the first whites to 'blaze the track' of what is now the section of

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Nat ...

between Degilbo in the Burnett to the

Boyne Valley The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

at Port Curtis, now Gladstone. Here Walsh formed yet another sheep station which he named Milton, allegedly after his birthplace or childhood home. On 20 February 1857 at

Parramatta, New South Wales Parramatta () is a suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta Riv ...

, he married the Danish-born (yet Scottish and English descended) Elizabeth Brown (1828–1913), daughter of the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

-born merchant, John Brown (proprietor of Coulston House,

Paterson River Paterson River, a perennial river that is part of the Hunter River catchment, is located in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Paterson River rises in the Barrington Tops National Park, we ...

, from 1829 to 1837 the proprietor of the North

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

situated Kokkedal Castle in Denmark). Afterwards he settled initially as the part owner, later sole proprietor of the vast Monduran and Degilbo stations, setting up the latter as a domicile for himself and his growing family.

Political life

He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1859,

from 1865 to 1878, and a

, from 1879 to 1888. He was the Queensland Minister of the Crown from 1870 to 1873,

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in the

from 6 January 1874 to 20 July 1876. Walsh was arguably the most conspicuous and outspoken

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

-conservative politicians in northern New South Wales and Queensland in the period up to the 1870s. He is today best known for his two decade long strong-worded opposition to the Queensland's Native Police Force and the lack of protection of indigenous people in Queensland, a position which brought him into conflict with Queensland's first Governor Sir George Ferguson Bowen and a number of other Queensland graziers. In parliament on 4 October 1867 the then minister for police "Colonial Secretary" (later

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is a ...

Arthur Hunter Palmer Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer (28 December 1819 – 20 March 1898) was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the fifth Premier of Queensland, in office from 1870 to 1874. He later held ministerial office in Thomas McIlwraith's ministry from ...

, brought an end to Walsh decade long crusade by ironically defending Walsh "perfect right to...pursue his monomania on the subject to any extent he pleased." Walsh is equally well known for his defence for the Queensland's sugar industry and its use of

Melanesians Melanesians are the predominant and indigenous inhabitants of Melanesia, in a wide area from Indonesia's New Guinea to as far East as the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji. Most speak either one of the many languages of the Austronesian language f ...

, so-called Kanaka, labour and dismissal that the accusation of this as slavery was anything more than working-class prejudices.

Later life

On 4 April 1888, he was walking from his home in

Bulimba Bulimba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bulimba had a population of 6,843 people. Geography Bulimba is located north-east of the CBD on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, but it is by road. Topo ...

towards the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

along Shaftson Road. As he passed the ropeworks, he was hit by a parcel delivery van driver and was knocked unconscious and died the following day (5 April 1888). He 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 ceme ...

Named in his honour

A number of Queensland places were named after him: * the

Walsh River The Walsh River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river rise in the locality of Watsonville on the Atherton Tableland approximately north of Herberton and then flow in a ...

* the Shire of Walsh (previously the Walsh Division) * Mount Walsh which is now in the

Mount Walsh National Park Mount Walsh is a national park in Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane. A prominent landmark in the Biggenden region is the granite bluff area of Mount Walsh which rises to above sea level in the northern part of park. The summit has ...

* Walshs Pyramid

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, William Henry 1823 births 1888 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Queensland Burials at Toowong Cemetery Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century squatters