Colin Dunlop Wilson Rankin, (20 January 1869 – 2 November 1940) was a Scottish-born Australian soldier, politician, cane farmer and company director.

Early life

Colin Dunlop Wilson Rankin was born on 20 January 1869 at Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland, the second son of William Rankin, colliery manager, and his wife Jane, née Anderson. He was educated at Galston Public School and

Kilmarnock Academy Kilmarnock Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Chille Mheàrnaig''), formerly Kilmarnock Burgh School, is an 11–17 co-educational state-funded secondary school in Kilmarnock, Scotland, currently serving in its third location on Sutherland D ...

. Rankin accompanied his family 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 ...

when his father became manager of the Queensland Collieries Co. Ltd. at

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

(near Maryborough) in 1884. Rankin joined its staff and from 1886 the Queensland Defence Force. By 1890 he was assistant company manager, grew sugar at Tigh-na-Bienne at Isis, Queensland (near Bundaberg, north of Howard), and became a clerk and valuator with the Isis Divisional Board (1890–1899).

Family life

Rankin married Annabelle Davidson Thomson on 5 September 1906 at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Maryborough; they settled on his plantation. They had two daughters, Annabelle (born 1908) and Jean. Annabelle became the first woman to enter the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

from

. The family lived in Brooklyn House in

(now

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Boer War

A major when the South African War broke out, Rankin volunteered for service and on 13 January 1900 sailed with the Second Queensland Contingent. He was appointed second-in-command of the First Australian Regiment of Mounted Infantry and saw action at Diamond Hill, Riet Vlei and elsewhere. Invalided to England, Rankin returned to Queensland in March 1901. In 1903 he was promoted lieutenant colonel of the Wide Bay Infantry Regiment, assuming command in 1906.

Politics

Rankin tried to enter the Queensland Legislative Assembly by contesting the Burrum in the

1899 Queensland colonial election Elections were held in the Colony of Queensland between 1 March 1899 and 25 March 1899 to elect the members of the colony’s Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Legislative Assembly. This election used contingent voting, at least in the singl ...

. When the

Shire of Howard The Shire of Howard is a former local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett area of Queensland, Australia, centred on the town of Howard. History On 11 November 1879, the Burrum Division was created as one of 74 divisions within Queensland ...

was formed in 1903, he was elected as a council member and as shire chairman. In the 1904 election, Rankin stood unsuccessfully again in Burrum. On 14 May 1905,

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, the Labour member for Burrum, died. Standing as an independent candidate, Rankin won the resulting by-election on 17 June 1905 and entered 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 ...

. He held the seat through the

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

, and

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

state elections. Rankin promoted rural interests during his thirteen years in parliament. He became a council-member of the Australian Sugar Producers' Union. His membership of the Farmers' Parliamentary Union (Country Liberal Party from 1913), however, exacerbated disunity among government ranks. After unsuccessfully challenging Denham's leadership, Rankin was Secretary for Railways from 6 April 1915 to 1 June 1915, and then became deputy leader of the Liberal Opposition when Labor won the May election. His time in the legislative assembly when he lost Burrum in the

1918 Queensland state election Elections were held in the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland on 16 March 1918 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Legislative Assembly. Background The election was the sec ...

on 16 March 1918 to Labour candidate Albert Whitford.

First World War

During the First World War Rankin served briefly in 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt before appointment to command the 11th Brigade in the newly formed 3rd Division, as temporary brigadier general from 1 May 1916. On

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

in England, he was dismissed by Major General

John Monash General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...

as "incapable". He returned home in November, and retired with the honorary rank of colonel in February 1917.

Later life

In 1919, when his brother, William Charles Rankin, died he succeeded him as general manager of the Queensland Collieries. As managing director in 1924–1940, Rankin continued a tradition of paternal despotism. He had found the company in poor shape with a falling output and inadequate coal reserves; charges have also been made of 'intense exploitation, sub-standard conditions and hard-fistedness'. He courageously took out new leases in the Burrum district and opened new mines which helped the company to weather the Depression of the 1930s. Rankin died in a private hospital in

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 ...

on 2 November 1940, survived by his wife and two daughters, and was buried with Anglican rites in Howard Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

* * W. J. E. Watson, ''100 Years in Coal'' (Maryborough, 1963) * E. Ross, ''A History of the Miners' Federation of Australia'' (Sydney, 1970) * D. J. Murphy, T. J. Ryan (Brisbane, 1975) * W. Browne, ''A Woman of Distinction'' (Brisbane, 1981) * R. L. Whitmore, ''Coal in Queensland'' (Brisbane, 1985) * P. Thomas, ''The Coalminers of Queensland, Volume 1'' (Ipswich, 1986) * Queensland Government Mining Journal, 15 November 1940, p. 284 * Queensland Times (Ipswich), 3 September 1907, 18 February 1910 * Queenslander, 15 September 1906, 27 December 1913, 20 August 1915, 17 May 1919, 13 December 1919 * ''Brisbane Sunday Mail'', 3 November 1940 * State Library of Queensland * Raymond L. Whitmore, "Rankin, Colin Dunlop Wilson (1869–1940)", ''

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 ...

'', Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp. 330–331.

External links

Australian Dictionary of Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Colin Dunlop Wilson 1869 births 1940 deaths People from Galston, East Ayrshire Military personnel from East Ayrshire People educated at Kilmarnock Academy Scottish emigrants to Australia Australian generals Australian Army officers 19th-century Australian farmers Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War Australian military personnel of World War I Australian people of Scottish descent Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly