Thomas Welsby
Thomas Welsby | |
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Peter McLachlan | |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Welsby 29 November 1858 Ipswich, Colony of New South Wales |
Died | 3 February 1941 New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | (aged 82)
Resting place | Toowong Cemetery |
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Ministerialist |
Spouse | Margaret Gilchrist Kingston (d. 1903) |
Occupation | Clerk, Accountant, Company director |
Thomas Welsby (29 November 1858 – 3 February 1941) was an
Early life
Born in
Welsby married Margaret Gilchrist, née Kingston on 21 February 1893 at East Brisbane. Margaret died ten years later and Welsby never remarried. They had three children; a son who died in childhood and two daughters.
Business career
Welsby's business success was helped immeasurably by his affable nature and his personal popularity. He fully exploited the personal associations that he had formed during his time as a banker. His banking experience also gave him a detailed understanding of the Queensland economy and the affairs of many of the major business concerns in the Colony. After leaving the Bank, he briefly became a member of the
Also in 1885, Welsby formed a partnership with Captain George Wallace to operate maritime ventures. The business undertook to do survey work and make coal sales. A substantial part of the business was the recovery of cargo from wrecked vessels. Welsby became a leading figure in the Brisbane establishment of the day. This was reflected in his appointment to the boards of a variety of leading Brisbane companies including the Engineering Supply Company of Australia and the Royal Bank of Queensland. His board career culminated with his appointment as the Chairman of Directors of Queensland Brewery Ltd in 1907. This last appointment established him as one of Brisbane's elite.
Political career
Welsby was a candidate for the
On 30 August 1911, Richard John Cottell, the Ministerial member for Toowong, died. The Secretary for Public Lands and member for Brisbane North, Edward Macartney, resigned on 5 September. By-elections for both seats were held on 16 September 1911, with Macartney switching to Toowong, allowing Thomas Welsby to win Brisbane North as a Ministerialist.[2][3]
In the 1912 election, Welsby was a candidate for the newly created seat of Merthyr and was elected on 27 April 1912. However, he subsequently lost his seat on 22 May 1915 when the Ryan Labor Government won the 1915 election.[2][3]
Welsby was by no means a natural politician. Although his magnetic personality and sharp intellect drew people to him, the daily intrigue and backstabbing of politics was anathema to him. Nevertheless, he was able to make his mark on the parliament by advancing the causes of the Ipswich railway workshops, the transformation of
Historian
It is for his literary works, particularly his histories of Moreton Bay, that Welsby is perhaps best known. Welsby was an intellectual, a polymath and a voracious reader and collector of books. Born only 35 years after the
Welsby was a rarity among historians. Not only was he in a position to record contemporary history, he was also an avid consumer of everything else written on the subject by others. Moreover, he was also born early enough to talk to a few eyewitnesses to the earliest days of Moreton Bay and to a great many others who were only one generation removed.
One of the great achievements of his historical writings was to flesh out much of the detail that was omitted by other historians. Welsby had a truly intimate knowledge of Moreton Bay and its environs. He had travelled personally to almost every part of the region and was particularly knowledgeable of the Bay Islands which he spent a lifetime exploring in a succession of yachts.
Literary style
Welsby writes in a relaxed, easy-to-read conversational style. His style can seem almost journalistic at times, though this is understandable as much of his published material originally appeared in newspapers.
Sportsman
Welsby was a prolific sportsman, particularly in the field of Yachting, Fishing and
As a footballer, Welsby was the manager and half-back for Queensland in the first inter-colonial match between Queensland and New South Wales. He was appointed a life member of the Queensland Rugby Union in 1928 and was its president from 1929 to 1939.[5]
He was foundation secretary of the Brisbane Gymnasium in 1882 and in 1904 he became a foundation member of the Amateur Fishing Association. He sponsored boxing matches and formed the Queensland Amateur Boxing and Wrestling Union in 1909.
Perhaps his most important contribution to Queensland sport was the part that he played in the formation of the Brisbane Sailing Club which was later to become the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. Welsby was a passionate yachtsman and owned a number of boats over the years including Rip, Charm, Vagabond, Bohemian, Amity and the motor launch Sunbeam. He was Commodore of the Squadron between 1903 and 1909 and donated the Amity Cup. In 1918 he published "The History of the Royal Queensland Yacht Club."
Later life
Welsby died in 1941 and was cremated. His ashes were later interred with his wife and son at Toowong Cemetery.[6]
Legacy
The locality of Welsby on Bribie Island was named after him.[7]
The library of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland is named after him.
His residence Amity is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[8]
Published works
- Schnappering, 1905, (Outeridge Printing Company, Brisbane) is a rambling, humorous book that deals with fishing in Moreton Bay.
- Early Moreton Bay, 1907, (Outeridge Printing Company, Brisbane) deals mainly with yachting and shipwrecks in the Bay.
- The Discoverers of the Brisbane River, 1913, (H.J. Diddams & Co, Brisbane) deals with the discovery of the River by Glasshouse Mountains and the HMS Bountymutiny.
- Memories of Amity, 1922, (Watson Ferguson, Brisbane) is a historical book focusing on Moreton Bay Couriernewspaper.
- Sport and Pastime in Moreton Bay, 1931 (Simpson, Halligan and co., Brisbane) deals further with fishing and sport in the Bay.
- Bribie the Basket Maker, 1937, (Barker's Bookstores, Brisbane) deals with the convict "Bribie" and Bribie Island
References
- ^ "Thomas Welsby exhibition opens" (PDF). Seascape. Maritime Safety Queensland: 8–9. January–March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2011.
- ^ )
- ^ Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ Journal of the Historical Society of Queensland, Nov 1951, p619 http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv/UQ:212808/s18378366_1952_4_5_619.pdf
- ^ Ruth Kerr, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/welsby-thomas-9044
- ^ Welsby Thomas – Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ "Welsby (entry 45497)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ "Amity (entry 600264)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- Welsby, Thomas. edited A.K Thomson "The Collected Works of Thomas Welsby" Jacaranda Press, Brisbane 1967
- Thomson, Andrew Kilpatrick "Introduction to The Collected Works of Thomas Welsby" Jacaranda Press, Brisbane 1967
Further reading
- Lergessner, James G (2007), I, Thomas Welsby, James G. Lergessner, ISBN 978-0-646-46651-4
External links
Media related to Thomas Welsby at Wikimedia Commons