Smith, Richard Joseph

Personal

Smith, Richard Joseph
Birth Date: 1819 (, Leicester)
Death Date: 15 November 1883 (Ipswich, Queensland)
Parents: Richard
Family: Maria Susanna Hutchbury in Brisbane on 1 December 1861, 1 daughter
Religion: Church of England

Career

Arrived in New South Wales c. 1824 and had various occupations; Arrived in Brisbane in 1845 and established the Marie Boiling Down Works at Bremer, Ipswich; Established a sawmill; Acquired Cabbage Tree, Tambourine (Logan) and Kenilworth (Wide Bay) stations; Declared insolvent in 1866; Became crown land agent in Ipswich and land commissioner of West Moreton; Became a land commissioner of East and West Moreton in 1876

Military Service: Appointed 1st Lieutenant of the Ipswich Mounted Volunteers, 1860-1863

Parliamentary Representation

House Party Electorate From To Elected/Departure Reason
Council NONE Legislative Council 3 Jul 1863 12 Jun 1866 Retired

Additional Information

Notes: The financial crisis of 1865 saw RJ Smith withdraw from business pursuits. Directly after this, a more liberal administration of the land laws was required. The government sought and secured Smith's services, first as land agent and then as Commissioner for Lands, to carry out the provisions of the government's new land policy - an appointment which continued to his death. RJ Smith was a member of the Church of England and contributed largely to the building of St Paul's Church in Ipswich. He took a deep interest in the Ipswich Grammar School and became its Chairman of Trustees; President, Queensland Pastoral and Agricultural Society
Sources: Moreton Bay Free Press, 16 November 1883; Wilson, Val, `My Search for Town Marie', Queensland Family Historian, V.23, No. 4, November 2002; Waterson, DB, Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament: 1860-1929, 2nd revised edition (Sydney: Casket Publications, 2001); Queensland Times, 17 November 1883; Brisbane Courier, 16 November 1883
[Last Modified: Monday, 01 January 0001]