Alexander Raff

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The Hon
Alexander Raff
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
14 August 1884 – 10 June 1910
Personal details
Born
Alexander Raff

(1820-07-20)20 July 1820
Company director

Alexander Raff (1820–1914) was a politician in

Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.[1]

Early life

Raff was born in

Elginshire, Scotland, in July 1820, as the third son of James and Margaret Raff. Raff arrived in New South Wales in 1845, following his eldest brother, George Raff, who had arrived in 1841. After first settling in Victoria pursuing pastoral interests, Raff arrived in Brisbane, aboard the Souvenir schooner on 9 April 1851.[1]

Queensland years

Raff purchased two blocks of land on what was to become Gregory Terrace in Spring Hill on 14 May 1860 for £312.4.3. A third adjacent block was subsequently bought by Raff in 1864 from the original 1860 purchaser, John Frederick McDougall.[1]

In January 1861, Raff was seriously injured when he was thrown from his horse.[2]

Raff married Elizabeth Millar Patterson, the elder daughter of a prominent Scottish medical family, in Sydney on 5 June 1862. The newly-weds arrived in Brisbane aboard the Balclutha on 13 June 1862. Raff and his wife Elizabeth had seven children, six of whom survived to adulthood. At some point prior to the birth of his first child, Jessie Watson, on 18 April 1863, the now heritage-listed house Grangehill was built on the Gregory Terrace site and occupied by Raff's family.[1]

In 1865 Raff was appointed to the position of Official Assignee of Insolvent Estates, and in 1868 he was promoted to the position of Curator of Intestate Estates. The Official Assignee was responsible for collecting the assets of an insolvent debtor and distributing them among the creditors; the Curator of Intestate Estates administered the estate of deceased persons, thought to have died intestate.[1]

Raff continued his pastoral interests in Queensland, on his property, Logie Plains on the Darling Downs. For many years from the 1880s, Raff was a partner of Smellie and Co, looking after the financial interests of the company.[1]

In August 1884 Raff was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council.[1]

Raff was an active member of various organisations and societies, including the

Presbyterian Church.[1]

Later life

Raff retired from the legislative council on 10 June 1910 (he was approaching his 90th birthday).[3]

Raff died on 26 January 1914.[1][4] He was buried in the Toowong Cemetery[5] on 27 January 1914.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Grangehill (entry 601668)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  2. The Brisbane Courier
    . National Library of Australia. 7 January 1911. p. 12. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. The Brisbane Courier
    . National Library of Australia. 13 July 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  4. ^ "DEATH OF TWO OLD COLONISTS". The Queenslander. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 31 January 1914. p. 39. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  5. ^ Raff Alexander[permanent dead link] — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. The Brisbane Courier
    . National Library of Australia. 27 January 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 29 January 2015.

Attribution

State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived
on 8 October 2014).

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