Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer (28 December 1819 – 20 March 1898) was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the fifth

Premier of Queensland 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 ap ...

, in office from 1870 to 1874. He later held ministerial office in

Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most ...

's ministry from 1879 to 1881, before serving as President of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1881 until his death in 1898.

Early life

Palmer was born in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

, Ireland, the son of Lieutenant Arthur Palmer, RN, and his wife, Emily ''née'' Hunter. Palmer was educated at

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

Grammar School and by a private tutor in Dublin. Palmer emigrated to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1838, arriving in

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 Mounta ...

on the ''

City of Edinburgh The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

''. Palmer worked for many years for Henry Cary Dangar on his

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

stations, eventually becoming general manager of all Dangar's holdings. Palmer went 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 , establishe ...

and took up pastoral runs in the Belyando River valley which he called

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...

Station. He began acting as a magistrate in 1865.

Politics

In 1866, Palmer was elected to Parliament as member for

Port Curtis Port Curtis is a suburb of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Port Curtis had a population of 281 people. Geography The Fitzroy River bounds the suburb to the north-east. Gavial Creek, a tributary of th ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland 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 ...

. On 2 August 1867 he became Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Public Works in the R. R. Mackenzie ministry, and in September 1868 Secretary for Public Lands. Mackenzie resigned on 25 November 1868 and Palmer went into opposition. On 3 May 1870 Palmer became Premier and Colonial Secretary, and in July 1873 Secretary for Public Works. Palmer's ministry was defeated on 6 January 1874. According to the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', "Palmer cannot be said to have been instrumental in producing much legislation". However, his ministry was known for his cohesiveness, an atypical quality in the colonial period, and it survived two general elections. During an economic depression in 1870, Palmer authorised a civil-service retrenchment, which proved unpopular. Successful bills included the ''Electoral Redistribution Act'', which divided the colony into single-member electoral districts based on population, and the ''Homestead Areas Act'', which divided large

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

s into smaller areas of land. Palmer was Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Public Instruction in the McIlwraith ministry which came into power in January 1879, but resigned these positions on 24 December 1881 to become President 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 ...

. Palmer remained in that position until his death. Palmer served as

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(deputy to the Governor) from 2 May 1883 to 6 November 1883, from 20 April 1886 to 12 December 1886, from 9 October 1888 to 1 May 1889, and from 16 November 1890 to 6 May 1891. He also served as Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland from 15 November 1895 to 9 April 1896.

Later life

He died at ''Easton Gray'', his home in

Toowong, Queensland Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills ...

after a long illness 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 ceme ...

.Palmer Sir Arthur Hunter
– Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

Family

In 1865, Palmer married Miss Cecilia Jessie Mosman. Cecilia was the sister of Hugh Mosman who discovered gold in

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits unde ...

and of Harriette Mosman, the second wife of

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 ...

. From 1872 to 1877, the Palmer family leased the house ''

Fernberg Government House is a heritage-listed mansion at 170 Fernberg Road, Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the official residence of the governor of Queensland, the representative of the Australian monarch in Queensland. It was o ...

'' in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, which became Queensland's Government House in 1910. Cecilia died in 1885, and was survived by three sons and two daughters. The family home, ''Easton Gray'', was sold in 1944 for the construction of Toowong State High School, later Toowong College, and now the Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology. His grandson Beaufort Palmer was one of Australia's finest pilot instructors in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Honours

Palmer was awarded a KCMG in 1881.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Arthur Hunter 1819 births 1898 deaths Premiers of Queensland Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Presidents of the Queensland Legislative Council People from Armagh (city) Burials at Toowong Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians Mosman family