Sir Maurice Charles O'Connell (13 January 1812 – 23 March 1879) was a

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

pioneer and president of the

Queensland Legislative Council Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

Early life

O'Connell was born at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1812. His father was Sir

Maurice Charles O'Connell Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell KCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of colonial New South Wales. Early life Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished caree ...

, his mother was

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

(née Bligh, formerly Putland) a daughter of Governor

William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

. He was educated at the high school, Edinburgh; Dublin and Paris.

Army career

O'Connell entered the army as an ensign at 16 and joined the 73rd Regiment at Gibraltar. In 1835 he volunteered for foreign service as colonel with the

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

in Spain, which he himself had raised in the county of Cork and other parts of Munster, to sustain the cause of the Spanish Queen and constitution against the insurgent Carlists. Later on he became Deputy Adjutant-General, and ultimately succeeded Sir De Lacy Evans as general of brigade in command of the British Auxiliary Legion in Spain. The Legion was disbanded on 8 December 1837, after taking heavy casualties during the

battle of Andoain The Battle of Andoain (Basque language, Basque: ''Andoaingo Gudua'') was a military engagement of the First Carlist War that was fought on 14 September 1837. It took place around the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque village of Andoain ...

. Sir Maurice O'Connell was rewarded for his services by having the knighthood of several Spanish orders conferred upon him. On his return to England he was appointed to the 51st Regiment, and afterwards becoming captain in the 28th, was appointed military secretary on the staff of his father in New South Wales in 1835. When the 28th was recalled to England, Sir Maurice sold out, and engaged in pastoral pursuits. He afterwards resigned from the army and took up land.

Political career

O'Connell was elected a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

in August 1845 for the electoral district of Port Phillip. He was appointed commissioner of crown lands for the Burnett district in 1848, became government resident at Port Curtis (now

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

) in 1854, and held this position until 1860. He was nominated as one of the original members of the

in 1860, was a minister without portfolio in the first ministry under Herbert, and introduced in July of that year a bill to provide for primary education in Queensland. Shortly afterwards he was elected president of the legislative council and retained this position until his death. In 1863, O'Connell was one of the founders and original trustees of the

Queensland Turf Club The Queensland Turf Club (QTC) was founded in August 1863. It began on a piece of land in Ascot, Queensland, later called Eagle Farm Racecourse Eagle Farm Racecourse is a heritage-listed horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ...

, having arranged a land grant of 322 acres of land at Eagle Farm in Brisbane for the purpose of horse racing, now known as the

Eagle Farm Racecourse Eagle Farm Racecourse is a heritage-listed horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located at the northern end of Racecourse Road in the suburb of Ascot, from the Brisbane central business district. The turf track is wi ...

. The other trustees were John Frederick McDougall and George Harris (all three were Members of the Queensland Legislative Council). In 1865 O'Connell,

Augustus Charles Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

and John Douglas applied for a special grant of land to erect a

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

in Brisbane. This was granted on 15 January 1865.

Late life and legacy

O'Connell was knighted in 1871. He was commandant of the local military forces, and on four occasions was acting-governor of Queensland and showed tact and ability in this position. He was president of the Australasian Association, and of the Queensland Turf Club, and was a vice-president of the National Agricultural Association. O'Connell died of cancer in Brisbane on 23 March 1879 at Queensland Parliament House. 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, Queensland's lar ...

Family

O'Connell married in 1835 Eliza Emeline Le Geyt, daughter of Colonel Philip Le Geyt, of Jersey. During the 1901 visit to Australia of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and Queen

), the royal couple had a special interview with Lady O'Connell, where she told of her early colonial experiences. Lady O'Connell died in Brisbane on 8 January 1903, almost 90 years old.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Maurice Charles 1812 births 1879 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Presidents of the Queensland Legislative Council British Auxiliary Legion personnel 73rd Regiment of Foot officers 28th Regiment of Foot officers Maurice Charles Burials at Toowong Cemetery Pre-Separation Queensland 19th-century Australian public servants