Archibald Meston (26 March 1851 – 11 March 1924) was an Australian politician,
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, journalist,
naturalist and explorer.
Personal life
Archibald Meston was born at
Towie
''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally ...
,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the son of Alexander Meston.
[
Meston migrated with his parents 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 1859, his family subsequently taking up farming at Ulmarra, New South Wales on the Clarence River.[Stephens, S.E., (1974), "Meston, Archibald (1851–1924)", ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, pp. 243–24]
/ref>[Australian National Herbarium biography: Archibald Meston]
/ref>
Meston married Margaret Frances Prowse Shaw in Sydney on 22 August 1871.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 ...
where he died (a pauper) of tetanus on 11 March 1924.
Meston was survived by his wife and, out of seven children, by four sons and a daughter.
He is buried in South Brisbane Cemetery
South Brisbane Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery at 21 Fairfield Road and Annerley Road, Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the Brisbane River. It was built from 1870 to 1990s. It is also known as Dutton Par ...
.
Professional and public life
In 1874, after travelling from New South Wales, he managed Dr John Waugh's Pearlwell sugar plantation on the Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
. The site is east of Oxley Creek, where it flows into the Brisbane River.
From 1875 to 1881 he was editor of the ''Ipswich Observer''. He was later the editor of ''The Toowoomba Chronicle
''The Toowoomba Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs regional areas in Queensland, Australia.
As of 2016, the newspaper is owned by News Corp Australia, and forms part of their Regional Media ...
''.[
From 1878 to 1882 he represented ]Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues.
True rosewoods
All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
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 Assembl ...
,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 ap ...
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 po ...
.[
He lost his seat when a civil court case resulted in bankruptcy.
In 1881 he moved to ]Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...
where he edited the ''Townsville Herald'' for a short time before moving to Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
where he was editor of ''The Cairns Post
''The Cairns Post'' is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland, Australia, that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftouts c ...
'' and lived on the Barron River until 1889.[
Although he claimed to be interested in sugar-growing, he never actually did so, and made his living from journalism, speculation and property management.
In January 1889 Meston led a government expedition to the Bellenden Ker Range and explored its summit.
The expedition was considered a success, and this led to further official engagements.
In 1891 he persuaded a stock and commission agent named Brabazon Purcell to recruit Aboriginal men and women to perform in the "Wild Australia Show". They rehearsed in Brisbane before performances in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The show collapsed in Melbourne.
In 1894 he was commissioned to investigate the conditions of ]Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
in Queensland; despite his consequent proposals, only some of his ideas were embodied in the ''''. Meston was, from 1898 to 1903, the Southern Protector of Aboriginals for Queensland. During his time as the Protector, Meston visited many Aboriginal communities and camps across Queensland and as an amateur ethnologist and linguist he documented Aboriginal culture and language. Meston collected words and wordlists from sites across Queensland which were later collated into various notebooks and cuttings. These notebooks are now held by the State Library of Queensland
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...
are a valuable resource for those researching Indigenous Language. In 1903 Meston was told that his services were no longer required.
In 1910 he was appointed director of the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau
The Queensland Government Tourist Bureau was a department of the Queensland Government in Australia, responsible for promoting tourism in Queensland and acting as a booking agent for Queensland tourist businesses. It was also known as Queensland ...
in Sydney.[
Throughout his life he was a prolific writer and, in addition to the newspapers he edited, he published frequently in '']The Queenslander
''The Queenslander'' was the weekly summary and literary edition of the '' Brisbane Courier'', the leading journal in the colony—and later, federal state—of Queensland since the 1850s. ''The Queenslander'' was launched by the Brisbane New ...
'', ''The Brisbane Courier
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'' and many other papers.[
]
Commemorations
Archibald Meston is commemorated in the names of two plants collected by him on Bellenden Ker, '' Garcinia mestonii'' and '' Piper mestonii''.[
In 1936, a portrait of Archibald Meston, painted by artist and friend B.E. Minns, was purchased through public subscription and donated to the Queensland National Art Gallery (now the ]Queensland Art Gallery
The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away.
The Queensland Art Galler ...
).
Meston Street in Mitchelton, Brisbane was named after him in 1938.
Publications
Apart from numerous writings as a journalist, as well as official reports to government authorities, several books were published by Meston:
* 1890 – ''Queensland Railway and Tourist Guide''. Queensland Railway Commissioners: Brisbane.
* 1895 – ''Geographic History of Queensland. Dedicated to the Queensland People''. Queensland Government: Brisbane.
References
External links
*
Taylor, Cheryl. (2003). "Romantic Pioneering in the Tropics: Archibald Meston's Home Life in Cairns, 1882-1888." etropic: electronic journal of multidisciplinary studies in the tropics, Vol 2, No 1.
Accessed 25 March 2008
Obituary of Archibald Meston, Brisbane Courier, Wednesday 12 March 1924, page 6
Accessed 20 September 2011
* (forthcoming) Jonathan Richards "Crocodile Destroyer": A Critical Biography of Archibald Meston
Archibald Meston Papers 1867-1960: treasure collection of the John Oxley Library
*Personal papers are held at the State Library of Queensland (extracts digitised) OM64-17 Archibald Meston Papers 1867-1960br>OM90-63 Archibald and Harold Meston Papers 1895-1951OM72-82 Archibald Meston Papers 1923-1924
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meston, Archibald
1851 births
1924 deaths
Australian explorers
Australian anthropologists
Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Burials in South Brisbane Cemetery