Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer (28 December 1819 – 20 March 1898) was an Australian politician who served as the fifth

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

, in office from 1870 to 1874. He later held ministerial office in

Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most po ...

's ministry from 1879 to 1881, before serving as President of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1881 until his death in 1898.

Early life

Palmer was born in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, Ireland, on 28 December 1819. He was the son of Lieutenant Arthur Palmer, RN, and his wife, Emily ( Hunter). Palmer was educated at

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

Grammar School and by a private tutor in Dublin. He emigrated to

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 ...

in 1838, arriving in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on the '' City of Edinburgh''. Palmer worked for many years for

Henry Cary Dangar Henry Cary Dangar (4 June 1830 – 25 April 1917) was a colonial Australian politician. He served two terms in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly during the 1870s and 1880s. Biography Dangar was born in Port Stephens, New South Wales, t ...

on his

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

stations, eventually becoming general manager of all Dangar's holdings. Palmer went to

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 ...

and took up pastoral runs in the

Belyando River The Belyando River, including the Belyando River (Western Branch), is a river system in Central Queensland, Australia. At in length and with a catchment area of , the Belyando River system is one of the longest rivers in Queensland. It is pro ...

valley which he called Beaufort Station. He began acting as a magistrate in 1865.

Politics

In 1866, Palmer was elected to Parliament as member for Port Curtis in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland 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 ...

. On 2 August 1867 he became Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Public Works in the R. R. Mackenzie ministry, and in September 1868 Secretary for Public Lands. Mackenzie resigned on 25 November 1868 and Palmer went into opposition. On 3 May 1870 Palmer became Premier and Colonial Secretary, and in July 1873 Secretary for Public Works. Palmer's ministry was defeated on 6 January 1874. According to the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', "Palmer cannot be said to have been instrumental in producing much legislation". However, his ministry was known for his cohesiveness, an atypical quality in the colonial period, and it survived two general elections. During an economic depression in 1870, Palmer authorised a civil-service

retrenchment Retrenchment (, an old form of ''retranchement'', from ''retrancher'', to cut down, cut short) is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure. Political usage The word is familiar in its most general sense from the mot ...

, which proved unpopular. Successful bills included the ''Electoral Redistribution Act'', which divided the colony into single-member electoral districts based on population, and the ''Homestead Areas Act'', which divided large

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

s into smaller areas of land. Palmer was Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Public Instruction in the McIlwraith ministry which came into power in January 1879, but resigned these positions on 24 December 1881 to become President of the

Queensland Legislative Council Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

. Palmer remained in that position until his death. Palmer served as

Administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

(deputy to the Governor) from 2 May 1883 to 6 November 1883, from 20 April 1886 to 12 December 1886, from 9 October 1888 to 1 May 1889, and from 16 November 1890 to 6 May 1891. He also served as Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland from 15 November 1895 to 9 April 1896.

Later life

He died at ''Easton Gray'', his home in

Toowong, Queensland Toowong ( ) is a riverside 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 situated between Mount Coot-tha an ...

after a long illness and was buried in

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 ...

.Palmer Sir Arthur Hunter
– Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

Family

In 1865, Palmer married Miss Cecilia Jessie Mosman. Cecilia was the sister of

Hugh Mosman Hugh Mosman (11 February 1843 – 15 November 1909) was a mine owner and politician in Queensland, Australia. He discovered gold in Charters Towers. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life Mosman was born on 11 Febru ...

who discovered gold in

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

and of Harriette Mosman, the second wife of

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

. From 1872 to 1877, the Palmer family leased the house '' Fernberg'' in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, which became Queensland's Government House in 1910. Cecilia died in 1885, and was survived by three sons and two daughters. The family home, ''Easton Gray'', was sold in 1944 for the construction of Toowong State High School, later Toowong College, and now the

Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology The Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology (QASMT) is a selective entry high school in Toowong, Queensland, Australia. It was developed in partnership with the University of Queensland. QASMT offers the International Baccala ...

. His grandson Beaufort Palmer was one of Australia's finest pilot instructors in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Honours

Palmer was awarded a KCMG in 1881.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Arthur Hunter 1819 births 1898 deaths Premiers of Queensland Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Presidents of the Queensland Legislative Council People from Armagh (city) Burials at Toowong Cemetery Politicians from the Colony of Queensland Mosman family