Robert Hodgson Watson (12 October 1896 – 26 March 1959) was an Australian politician who served as a member of 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 ...

Biography

Watson was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England, the son of William Watson and his wife Elizabeth Ann (née Forster) and came to Australia at an early age. He was educated to primary level and after he finished his schooling, he worked at the family sugarcane farm at Mourilyan before working on farms at Mossman and

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. He was also an inspector and Chairman of Directors at the Babinda Central Mill. On 8 December 1920 Watson married Ethel Agnes Mutch (died 1981)Family history research
— Queensland Government births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Retrieved 3 June 2016. and together had two daughters. He 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 Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, in March 1959 and was cremated at the

Mt Thompson Crematorium Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium (formerly Brisbane Crematorium) includes a heritage-listed chapel (the West Chapel), columbaria and other features. It is located on north-western slopes of Mount Thompson in Brisbane, Australia. ...

.Robert Hodgson Watson ( - 1959)
— Heaven Address. Retrieved 3 June 2016.

Public career

Watson started out in politics as a councillor on the Mulgrave Shire Council and went on to be chairman of the shire for eleven years. A member of the Country Party, Watson won the seat of Mulgrave at the

1950 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 April 1950 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its seventh continuous term in office since the 1932 election; it would b ...

, beating

Charles English Charles Bernard English (1902–1974) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Early life Charles English was born 30 January 1902 as Goonengerry near Lismore, New South Wales, the so ...

of the Labor Party, W.F. Falls of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

and G.A. Groth of the

North Queensland Labor Party The North Queensland Labor Party (known as the Hermit Park Labor Party before 1949 and the North Queensland Party after 1974) was a minor political party in Australia from 1942 to 1977. The party was formed when the Australian Labor Party in Q ...

. He held the seat for three years before being defeated by Charles English in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

. He stood at the

1956 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 19 May 1956 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its ninth continuous term in office since the 1932 election; it would be V ...

but was again beaten by English, but at the state election the next year he once again won Mulgrave, beating English who by now had joined the

Queensland Labor Party The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland se ...

.English, Mr Charles Bernard
—

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 st ...

. Retrieved 3 June 2016. Watson became ill during the 1959 parliamentary sittings and died a few days later. He was the executive officer of the Australian Sugar Producers' Association and executive of the District Cane Growers Association. He was also a member of Rotary and a Freemason.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Robert Hodgson Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1896 births 1959 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians