O'Connell, Maurice Charles

Personal

O'Connell, Maurice Charles
Birth Date: 13 January 1812 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Death Date: 23 March 1879 (Brisbane, Queensland)
Parents: Sir Maurice O'Connell and Mary Putland (nee Bligh)
Family: Eliza Emiline Le Geyt in Jersey, Channel Islands on 23 July 1835
Education: Dr Pinckney's Academy, East Sheen; High schools in Edinburgh and Dublin; Charlemagne Military College, Paris
Religion: Church of England

Career

Established as a horse breeder in Sydney, 1842; Appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands in the Burnett, Queensland, 1848; Appointed government resident at Port Curtis, 1854 to 1858; Acquired squatting properties and developed small copper mine, Gladstone; Appointed commander of the volunteers, 1860

Military Service: Appointed as ensign to the 73rd Regiment to serve in Gibraltar and Malta, 1828; Appointed assistant to the commanding officer, Jersey, 1831 to 1835; Led 10th Munster Light Infantry of British Legion in Spain; Purchased captaincy in the 51st and 28th regiments; Appointed assistant military secretary to his father in 1838

Parliamentary Representation

House Party Electorate From To Elected/Departure Reason
Council NONE Legislative Council 1 May 1860 23 Mar 1879 Died in office

Parliamentary Service

Description From To
President of the Legislative Council of Queensland 27 Aug 1860 23 Mar 1879
Minister without office 21 May 1860 28 Aug 1860

Additional Information

Notes: He was invested by Spain with the Order of Knight Commander of Isabella the Catholic, Knight of the Second Class of San Fernando and Knight Extraordinary of Charles III of Spain; President, Queensland Turf Club from 1865 to 1875; Vice president, National Association
Sources: Image courtesy of State Library of New South Wales, Ref Code: 154481; Waterson, DB, Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament: 1860-1929, 2nd revised edition (Sydney: Casket Publications, 2001); The Week, 2 June 1877; Gibbney, HJ, 'O'Connell, Sir Maurice Charles (1812 - 1879)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 350-351
[Last Modified: Friday, 19 June 2020]