Robert Philp

Sir Robert Philp,

Despite the success of Burns, Philp & Co, Philp made some poor personal investments, such as his loss of £5000 on the "Comet" mine. Like many others he was affected by the economic depression of the 1890s, borrowing £20,000 to purchase property in Brisbane which three years later was valued at only £16,230. He also owed considerable sums of money to the North Queensland Mortgage & Investment Co., as well as holding a £5000 mortgage with respect to other properties. Although Burns tried to assist him, Philp was forced to sell his shares in Burns, Philp & Co in 1893, and was still in financial difficulty as late as 1898, although by this stage he had restricted his business ventures to more conservative investments.[1]

When the business-friendly McIlwraith government lost office in 1883 it was succeeded by the Liberal government of Samuel Griffith that sought to end the trade in Kanakas. As a prominent businessman who had served several times on the local council Philp was active in bankrolling and supporting candidates in opposition to Griffith. He supported the growing movement for the separation of North Queensland from the rest of the colony.

Early parliamentary career

Philp entered the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in 1886 as Member for Musgrave.^[2] He supported the North Queensland separatists in their unsuccessful attempts to gain independence, but spent most of his early parliamentary career preoccupied with his business affairs. His seat of Musgrave was abolished and in 1888 he was successfully returned as one of the two members for the electorate of Townsville.^[1] His parliamentary activity was mainly in support of North Queensland and his business interests – extending railway links to North Queensland, and the abolition of import tariffs. When the import of Pacific islanders was temporarily halted in 1892 Philp was instrumental in securing its resumption.

Premier and opposition leader

Philp was a prolific speculator and in 1893 he was forced by debt to resign from the board of directors of Burns, Philp. In May of the same year McIlwraith, now governing in coalition with Griffith in what was known as the "Continuous Ministry", appointed Philp as

First World War and leading the resistance to the abolition of the Legislative Council. In 1920 he led a delegation to London which thwarted Premier Ted Theodore's

attempts to gain loans from London financiers to fund government expenditure.

On 17 June 1922 he died in Brisbane and was buried at Toowong Cemetery.^[1][2]

Family

Philp married Jessie Banister Campbell (daughter of prominent Brisbane businessman

James Campbell

) in 1878; she died in 1890. In 1898 he married Wilhelmina Fraser Munro; she died in 1940

References

• Philp, Robert — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

1. ^
   ISSN 1833-7538
   . Retrieved 31 August 2014.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Serle, Percival (1949). "Philp, Robert". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
3. ^ "Burns Philp & Co – Macleay Museum". University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Philp.

• Bolton, G C. Robert Philp: Capitalist as Politician. In Murphy D, Joyce R, Cribb M, and Wear, R (Ed.), The Premiers of Queensland pp. 1–29. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.
  ISBN 0-7022-3173-8
  .
• Bolton, Geoffrey (2009), "Why is Robert Philp worth remembering?" (PDF), Sir Robert Philp Lecture Series : selected lectures on North Queensland history from the CityLibraries, Townsville City Council, pp. 8–19,
  ISBN 978-0-9807305-2-4, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2020

Political offices
Preceded by Anderson Dawson	Premier of Queensland 1899–1903	Succeeded by Arthur Morgan
Preceded by William Kidston	Premier of Queensland 1907–1908	Succeeded by William Kidston
Preceded by Anderson Dawson	Leader of the Opposition in Queensland 1899	Succeeded by Anderson Dawson
Preceded by William Browne	Leader of the Opposition in Queensland 1903–1904	Succeeded by Arthur Rutledge
Preceded by Arthur Rutledge	Leader of the Opposition in Queensland 1904–1907	Succeeded by William Kidston
Preceded by William Kidston	Leader of the Opposition in Queensland 1908	Succeeded by David Bowman
Parliament of Queensland
New seat	Member for Musgrave 1886–1888	Succeeded by William O'Connell
Preceded by William Villiers Brown	Member for Townsville 1888–1915 Served alongside: William Brown, George Burns, Anthony Ogden, William Castling, Patrick Hanran, Thomas Foley	Succeeded by Daniel Ryan