Boyd Dunlop Morehead (24 August 1843 – 30 October 1905) 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

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 ...

from November 1888 to June 1890.

Early life

Boyd Morehead was born 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 ...

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 ...

, the second son and child of two sons and two daughters (and the only son to reach full adulthood) of businessman Robert Archibald Alison Morehead and his wife Helen Buchanan, ''née'' Dunlop. He studied at

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

and later matriculated at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1860. He, however, did not continue at the university but joined the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

, where he obtained some training in

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

. He then entered the service of the Australian Investments Company and as a station inspector visited Queensland in 1866. In 1873 he founded the well-known firm of B. D. Morehead and Company, general merchants, and stock and station agents, which afterwards became Moreheads Limited.

Political career

On 4 September 1871 (in the

1871 Queensland colonial election Elections were held in the Colony of Queensland (now a state of Australia) between 8 July 1871 and 6 September 1871 to elect the members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of t ...

), Morehead was elected a member of 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 ...

for the Mitchell electorate. He successfully held the seat in the

1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...

and

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

elections but resigned on 30 December 1880 in order to be appointed to 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, ...

on 31 December 1880. In December 1880 he joined the first

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 ...

government as Postmaster-General and as the Government's Representative in the Legislative Council, until he resigned from the Legislative Council on 3 August 1883. On 5 October 1883, Morehead was re-elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the seat of Balonne from October 1883 to April 1896. When

Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and ...

came into power in November 1883, Morehead was appointed leader of the opposition and held this position for some years. McIlwraith became premier again in June 1888 with Morehead as colonial secretary. When McIlwraith resigned, Morehead succeeded him on 30 November 1888 as

and colonial secretary. Morehead was an opponent of

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

Morehead resigned 12 August 1890 and made a long visit to Europe. The 1893 financial crisis caused heavy losses for Morehead's share investments. Also in 1893 he declined the agent-generalship. On 10 June 1896 Morehead was re-appointed to the

. He remained a member until his death on 30 October 1905.

Family

Morehead was married twice. His first wife was Annabella Campbell, ''née'' Ranken (died 1890),Family history research
— New South Wales Government births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Retrieved 27 January 2016. whom he married at Lockyersleigh, Goulburn, on 4 June 1873, and with whom he had seven daughters. His second wife was Ethel, ''née'' Seymour (died 1952), whom he married in Brisbane on 3 April 1895, and with whom he had one daughter. His niece Margaret Goff (née Morehead) was the mother of Helen Lyndon Goff, who achieved fame as P. L. Travers, the author of ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

''.

Later life

Morehead died from a cerebral haemorrhage on 30 October 1905 at a private hospital in Gregory Terrace, Brisbane. His funeral proceeded from ''Valmore'', the

Wooloowin Wooloowin ( ) is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wooloowin had a population of 4,029 people. Geography Wooloowin is an inner-north suburb of Brisbane, Australia located approximately 5–6 km north of th ...

home of his son-in-law, Orme Darvall, to 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 ...

. He was honoured in 1993, when botanist F.M. Bailey published ''Bambusa moreheadiana'', then in 2005, it became '' Mullerochloa moreheadiana''.

References

Morehead, Boyd Dunlop (1843–1905)
, ''

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 ...

'', Vol. 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 284–285. Retrieved 2009-10-15 and NSW Birth Death & Marriages retrieved 2009-12-10 *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morehead, Boyd Dunlop 1843 births 1905 deaths Premiers of Queensland People educated at Sydney Grammar School Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Burials at Toowong Cemetery Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians Australian stock and station agents 19th-century Australian businesspeople Colony of New South Wales people Colony of Queensland people