John (Jack) Linnett (1859 – 16 May 1902) was 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 ...

. He was born at

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of William Linnett and his wife Rachel (née Cook). Linnett arrived in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

on the Southern Belle on 6 March 1874. On arrival, he trained as a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

and remained in the industry all his life. On 25 August 1887, he married Ellen Conner in Rockhampton. He died there in May 1902 and his funeral proceeded from his former residence to the North Rockhampton Cemetery.

Public life

Linnett, a Ministerialist, contested the 1901 by-election for the seat of Rockhampton North in June 1901 to replace

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, who had moved to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

. Henry Turner of the Labour Party was declared the victor by a single vote, but Linnett lodged a successful petition against the result and was declared the victor. The 1902 state elections were held the following March and Linnett did not stand for re-election with Henry Turner winning the seat. Linnett represented North Rockhampton on the

Fitzroy Bridge The Fitzroy Bridge was a suspension bridge that spanned the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia from 1881 until it was demolished in 1956. Construction work on the bridge commenced in March 1877. The bridge consisted of bot ...

Board, was a member of the

Gogango Divisional Board The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal ...

, and suppported the horse-racing industry. He was Chairman of Directors of the Helena Extended mine, at Cawarral. Linnett was also an alderman and mayor of the North Rockhampton Borough Council and North Rockhampton Municipal Council.

Legacy

Linnett Street in the suburb of Berserker in North Rockhampton is named after John Linnett.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnett, John Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1859 births 1902 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians British emigrants to colonial Australia Colony of Queensland people