Thomas O'Sullivan QC (13 December 1856 – 22 February 1953) was a barrister, Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and member of both 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 to ...

and

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 ...

Early years

O'Sullivan was born at Ipswich, Queensland, to Patrick O'Sullivan, himself a future member of the

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 ...

, and his wife, Mary (née Real). He was educated at the local state school and at St. Mary's College, Ipswich. In 1873, O'Sullivan began his legal career in Ipswich, being employed by, and later articled to, Charles Frederick Chubb, Solicitor. Two years later he moved to

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 ...

, being articled to Robert Little, but returned to Ipswich to look after his brother's legal business after his death in 1877. He was admitted as a solicitor in September, 1878.O'Sullivan, Thomas (1856–1953)
– '' Australian Dictionary of Biography''. Retrieved 23 March 2015.

Legal career

Moving back to Brisbane in 1886, O'Sullivan went into partnership with Charles Bedell Lilley, son of Sir Charles Lilley, and after the partnership finished O'Sullivan continued on with the business while also studying for the Bar and was admitted in 1900. In 1911, he was made a KC. In 1915, O'Sullivan was appointed as a District Court judge, and made chairman of the Central Sugar Cane Prices Board. In 1922, he was made a judge in the Supreme Court of Queensland, serving until his retirement in 1926. During this time he was a member of the Court of Industrial Arbitration and chairman of the Land Appeal Court.

Political career

O'Sullivan contested the electorate of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, the seat his father had represented, at the 1899 election, losing to the Ministerialist candidate, Frederick Lord. Within a week of having become premier in 1903, Arthur Morgan appointed O'Sullivan to the Queensland Legislative Council. During his term he was the Government Representative in the Legislative Council. He resigned from the Council in January, 1906 to contest the seat of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to replace Arthur Morgan, who had resigned to join the Legislative Council. This time he was successful, winning by 449 votes to 435 against his competitor, George Barnes. He was appointed Secretary for Public Works in January 1906, serving until February 1907 when he was also given role of Agriculture, serving until November 1907. In the 1908 election, O'Sullivan was once again up against Barnes, this time the latter was successful, winning by 1297 votes to 1206. Within two weeks of losing his seat, O'Sullivan was reappointed to the Legislative Council, the Premier this time being

William Kidston William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911. Early life William Kidston was born in Fa ...

. He immediately returned to the role of Secretary for Agriculture in 1908, and then in October of that year he was made

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and remained in the position until June, 1915. He resigned in December 1915 to take up his appointment to the District Courts.

Personal life

On 20 January 1886, O'Sullivan married Rosanna Mellin (d. 1937) at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. He had been a President of the Queensland Irish Association and the Johnsonian Club and was a member of the Constitutional Club. Survived by three sons and two daughters, O'Sullivan died at his home in February, 1953. He was accorded a state funeral, which was held at St Stephen's Cathedral and proceeded to the

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 ...

.O'Sullivan Thomas
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 23 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Thomas 1856 births 1953 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland Australian King's Counsel Burials at Toowong Cemetery Australian people of Irish descent