Ernest James Stevens (10 July 18453 March 1922) was an Australian politician and businessman who served as 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 ...

and later

Member of the Queensland Legislative Council Following are lists of members 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 t ...

in colonial Queensland and Australia.

Early life

Ernest James Stevens was born in 1845 in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, the son of Frederick Perkins Stevens and his wife Jane (née Rule). On 20 June 1877 he married Ada Constance Jackson in

Casterton, Victoria Casterton is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Glenelg Highway, 42 kilometres east of the South Australian border, in the Shire of Glenelg. The Glenelg River passes through the town. Casterton is named after the village of Cast ...

Political life

Ernest Stevens 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 ...

to represent the

electoral district of Warrego Warrego is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. The electorate lies in the extreme southwest of Queensland, running along the western part of the border with New South Wales. It includes the ...

from 14 November 1878 to 17 August 1883. He was elected to the

to represent the

electoral district of Logan Logan is an electoral district in southern Queensland, Australia. Logan encompasses urban and semi-rural environments on the southern outskirts of the Brisbane metropolitan area. Major locations within the electoral district include Boronia H ...

from 17 August 1883 to 4 April 1896. In July 1884 Stevens proposed that the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

erect a fence to prevent the infestation of rabbits in

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 ...

from spreading into Queensland (his Logan electorate being very close to the New South Wales border). On 6 April 1899 he was appointed a life member 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, ...

, an appointment that terminated with his retirement on 7 September 1920.

Later life

Ernest Stevens died on 3 March 1922 in a Brisbane private hospital, following a period of ill-health. He was buried in Southport Cemetery on 4 March 1922.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Ernest James Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Colony of Queensland people 1845 births 1922 deaths