Sir Alfred Sandlings Cowley (24 April 1848 – 1 December 1926) was a politician in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. He was a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former Electoral dis ...

Early life

Cowley was born in

Fairford Fairford is a market town in Gloucestershire, England. The town lies in the Cotswold hills on the River Coln, east of Cirencester, west of Lechlade and north of Swindon. Nearby are RAF Fairford and the Cotswold Water Park. History I ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, the son of Isaac Cowley and Charlotte his wife. When still a boy he accompanied his parents to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He served an apprenticeship to the building and engineering trade, making the erection of sugar machinery a specialty; but he subsequently became an agriculturist, and was for three years engaged in cultivating sugar and coffee. Early in 1871 Cowley left Natal for the Australian colonies, and was a resident of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

for over two years, part of which time he was in charge of a central sugar-mill on the

Macleay River The Macleay River is a river that spans the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Gara River, Salisbury Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay River ...

. Cowley resided in the Maryborough district of

for three years, during which time he was engaged in the cultivation and manufacture of sugar. After that Cowley settled in the Lower Herbert district, and was actively employed in the sugar industry. Cowley was married at

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, Natal, on 24 July 1880, to Miss Marie Campbell.

Politics

Cowley was a member of the

Hinchinbrook Divisional Board The Shire of Hinchinbrook is a local government area in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Ingham, covers an area of , and has existed since its creation on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions ...

and was its chairman from 1883 to 1886. Cowley was elected to the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

in the

electoral district of Herbert Herbert was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state (colony until 1901) of Queensland. History Herbert was created in 1888. It was located in north-east Queensland, initially from Cairns to Townsville. It was abolished in the 1949 redist ...

on 12 May 1888, and on the formation of the

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

– McIlwraith Government in August 1890 was appointed Secretary for Public Lands and Agriculture, and sworn of the Executive Council. He served as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

from 1893 to 1899 and from 1903 to 1907. He was knighted in 1904. His parliamentary service ended on 18 May 1907 when he was defeated in the 1907 election.

Later life

Cowley died on 1 December 1926 at his residence ''Silky Oaks'' in Cross Street,

Toowong Toowong ( ) is a riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 12,556 people with a median weekly household income of $1,927. Geography Toowong is ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and was buried on 2 December in the

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Alfred 1848 births 1926 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor Burials at Toowong Cemetery People from Fairford Colony of Natal people Immigrants to Australia

Early life

Politics

Later life

Further reading

References