William Pettigrew (26 August 1825 – 28 October 1906) was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

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 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia and a Member of the

Legislative Council of Queensland 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 ...

, Australia.

Personal life

William Pettigrew was born on 26 August 1825 at

Tarbolton Tarbolton ( sco, Tarbowton) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is near Failford, Mauchline, Ayr, and Kilmarnock. The old Fail Monastery was nearby and Robert Burns connections are strong, including the Bachelors' Club museum. Meaning o ...

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, Scotland, the son of Robert Pettigrew (a farmer) and Mary McWhinnie. He trained as a surveyor and emigrated to Brisbane in 1848 on the arriving in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

in January 1849. He married Amelia Boughay in Brisbane on 19 February 1859. Amelia was born on 19 Jan 1824 in London, the daughter of Philip Boughay and Elizabeth Nash.Toowong Cemetery Monumental Inscriptions - Queensland Family History Society Inc. Amelia had also immigrated on the ''Fortitude''. They had the following children:Queensland Registrar-General of Births, Deaths & Marriages * Margaret, born Brisbane 1859 * Robert, born Brisbane 1862 * Mary Ann, born Brisbane 1866 Amelia had previously been married to Joseph Ward Davis, registered in the September quarter of 1848 in Newington,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. So, William had two stepsons from Amelia's first marriage: * Charles Ward Davis, born 1850 * Joseph Boughay Davis, born 1854 Sadly, William's stepson Joseph Davis accidentally drowned in 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 ...

in October 1859, while playing with other boys. On 15 December 1881, William's daughter Margaret married Philip, the eldest son of another Brisbane alderman and mayor,

John Hardgrave John Hardgrave (14 April 1826 – 8 November 1906) was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Personal life John Hardgrave was born in Ardee, County Louth, Ireland on 14 April 1826, the son of William Hardgrave (a cordwa ...

. At that time, the Pettigrew family were living in William Street. Mary Ann Pettigrew married Harry Ward Davis, son of E. Davis Esq of Charlton Kent on 7 April 1891. William was a strict

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

who believed in keeping

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

sacred. He practised this belief by walking to church and banning musical instruments during the church service. William's wife Amelia died at their home "Nungurum",

Eagle Junction Clayfield is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,555 people. Geography Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane GPO. Clayfield is bordered to the north by Nundah, to the east by ...

on 1 September 1893 and is 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's largest cemet ...

together with her son Charles Ward Davis who died in 1895. William retired to Bowen where he lived with his daughter Mary Ann and her husband Harry Davis until he died on 28 Oct 1906 and is buried in Bowen.

Business life

William Pettigrew was a surveyor who established a number of businesses including sawmills and a shipping business. His early work in the Brisbane area as a surveyor revealed to him the quantity and quality of timber available and how profitable it could be if it was milled efficiently without the need for intensive labour.

Brisbane businesses

In January 1852, William Pettigrew purchased land on the banks of the Brisbane River near the corner of William Street and Margaret Street,

in order to build the first steam-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in Queensland. The sawmill was built by another Brisbane pioneer and mayor

John Petrie John Petrie (15 January 1822 – 8 December 1892) was a Scottish-born politician, architect, stonemason and building contractor in Brisbane who became the city's first Mayor. Private life John Petrie was born 15 January 1822Toowong Cemetery ...

and was operational in July 1853. The mill was supplied with timber from land William Pettigrew had bought at

Moggill Moggill is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Moggill had a population of 4,641 people. Geography Moggill is about by from the Brisbane GPO. The Brisbane River bounds the suburb to the east, south and west w ...

from where the logs were floated down the

to the mill. The mill was very profitable for many years but, as the railways were established, the lack of rail link to his mill became a disadvantage compared to other mills. Finally his mill was inundated in the

1893 Brisbane flood The 1893 Brisbane flood, occasionally referred to as the Great Flood of 1893 or the Black February flood, occurred in 1893 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Brisbane River burst its banks on three occasions in February 1893. It was the ...

and by 1898 William Pettigrew went bankrupt.

Maryoochydore businesses

Around 1862, the area around Maroochydore was opened up for development. In 1863, William Pettigrew visited the area and found there was plentiful timber to be obtained, including hardwood, cedar, bunya and kauri pine. Although there was good timber there, the Maroochy River bar was hazardous. So William Pettigrew established a depot and wharf at Mooloolah Heads (now known as

Mooloolaba Mooloolaba is a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is part of the Maroochydore urban centre. In the , Mooloolaba had a population of 7,73 ...

) to deliver timber to his Brisbane sawmill. Later in 1884, he established a landing place at

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

to receive timber floated down the Maroochy River. In 1891, he opened a sawmill on the bank of the Maroochy River at Cotton Tree and now known as Wharf St, Maroochydore. William Pettigrew had three steamers that he used on the run to the Maroochy River, "Tadorna Radja", "Tarshaw" and "Gneering". William Pettigrew closed his sawmill at Maroochydore in 1898 and sold up his land holdings (Cotton Tree, Potts Point, Mooloolah Heads) in the Maroochy area in 1903. These events appear to coincide with both his bankruptcy as well as timber-getting becoming uneconomic (all the suitable trees in the area having been cut down) and a rail link to Brisbane reduced the need for a steamer service. William Pettigrew jointly owned the Pettigrew and Sims Sawmill at Dundathu and established the (now heritage-listed) Cooloola Tramway to provide access to it.

Public life

William Pettigrew was an

of the

Brisbane Municipal Council The Town of Brisbane was a local government area for Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. History The Municipality of Brisbane was gazetted on 25 May 1859 and proclaimed by the Governor of New South Wales on 7 September 1859 ...

from 1863 to 1884 and

in 1870.Brisbane City Council Archives He served on the following committees: * Improvement Committee 1863, 1864, 1869, 1870, 1877–1880 * Water Committee 1863, 1864 * Lighting Committee 1863 * Bridge Committee 1864, 1869, 1870 * Finance Committee 1865, 1871, 1872, 1878, 1881, 1883 * Town Hall Committee 1869, 1870 * Legislative Committee 1870, 1871, 1879–1882, 1884 * Wharfage Committee 1881 * Works Committee 1882, 1884 From 1880 to 1883, he was a member of the

Caboolture Divisional Board The Shire of Caboolture was a local government area located in the Australian state of Queensland on the northern urban fringe of the capital, Brisbane, and south of the Sunshine Coast. The Shire covered an area of , of which approximately ...

and chairman of that board in 1881. William Pettigrew was appointed a life member of the

from 12 May 1877 but resigned on 23 June 1894. He was a member of: * the Queensland Philosophical Society * the Brisbane School of Arts Committee * the

Queensland Acclimatisation Society The Queensland Acclimatisation Society (QAS) was an acclimatisation society based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which operated from 1862 to 1956. Its primary interest was in the introduction of exotic plants to Queensland, both for economic a ...

(a life member)

References

External links

*
Report on Site Visits, John Kerr, January 1998
which documents William Pettigrew's contribution to the timber industry in Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettigrew, William Mayors and Lord Mayors of Brisbane Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1825 births 1906 deaths People from Tarbolton 19th-century Australian politicians