James Foote (1829 - 1895) was a politician in Queensland, 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 ...

and a mayor of the

Borough of Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, after Peterborough and Norwich. It is ...

Early life

James Foote was born on 2 March 1829 in either Frampton Cotterell,

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 or in

Calne Calne () is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, the son of Joseph Foote (a hat maker) and his wife Elizabeth (née Clarke). In January 1848, his father Joseph emigrated to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(Tasmania) as an agent of the Van Dieman's Land Colonial Mission Society and was appointed the resident

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minister at

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within a few weeks of his arrival. Unfortunately, on 10 September 1848 Joseph died after being seized with an apoplectic fit while preaching the divine service. He immigrated with his mother, three sisters, his brother

John Clarke Foote John Clarke Foote (1822–1895) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life John Clarke Foote was born on 10 July 1822 in Calne, Wiltshire, England, the son of Joseph Foote (a ha ...

and his sister-in-law on the ''Emigrant'' arriving in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

on 12 August 1850. During the voyage, there was an outbreak of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

and around 20 people died. The ship on arrival in Moreton Bay was placed under quarantine, and was not brought into Brisbane until 28 September 1850. On 21 July 1863, James Foote married Catherine Keith (née Cramb), the widow of James Keith, at Clydebank Cottage,

Petrie Terrace Petrie Terrace is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Petrie Terrace had a population of 1,168 people. Geography The suburb is by road west of the Brisbane General Post Office. The precinct is bordered ...

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. After some time, he established a grocery business in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

to which he later added ironmongery.

Politics

Foote was an alderman of

in 1866-1869 and 1871 and was mayor of Ipswich in 1870. Foote 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 West Moreton in the 1873 Queensland colonial election on 18 November 1873. He held the seat until the 1878 election on 15 November 1878. On 21 January 1879, following the defeat of the Douglas Ministry, the McIlwraith Ministry was sworn in. The Constitution required all of them to stand down and contest their parliamentary seats at ministerial by-elections. Only one of its members was opposed at election: John Malbon Thompson, the member for

, who was returned by a narrow majority at the poll on 1 February 1879 against Foote. On 26 October 1880, William Hendren, the member for Bundamba, resigned following his being declared insolvent. Foote won the resulting by-election on 12 November 1880. He held the seat until 12 May 1888. He was nominated as a candidate for Bundamba in the 1888 election. However, on 13 March 1888, he broke his leg when he stood up in his buggy and the horse suddenly moved forward, throwing him backwards. and after a few weeks decided to withdraw from the contest due to the broken leg. On 15 October 1892, Jean-Baptiste Isambert, the member for

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, resigned following his being adjudicated as insolvent. Foote won the resulting by-election on 15 November 1892 and held the seat until the 1893 election on 6 May 1893.

Later life

James Foote died on 4 September 1895 at his residence in Ipswich; He had been ill for some months prior to his death. His funeral service the following day (5 September 1895) was an ''"imposing spectacle"''. The Old Ipswich Town Hall had its flag at half-mast, many businesses with which James Foote was associated closed for the day, and there was a very large funeral cortege. Led by the Baptist pastor, Rev. Young, the hearse was followed by all of James Foote's employees walking, James Foote's favourite buggy bearing a pet dog, then 60 to 70 vehicles and a considerable number of horsemen, while many citizens lined the route to the Ipswich General Cemetery, where a graveside service was conducted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, James Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1895 deaths 1829 births Colony of Queensland people Burials at Ipswich General Cemetery Mayors of Ipswich, Queensland 19th-century Australian politicians People from South Gloucestershire District People from Calne