John George Appel (1859–1929) was an Australian politician, lawyer, and farmer. He served from 1908 to 1929 as a delegate for the

electoral district of Albert Albert was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Queensland which existed from 1887 to 1949 and 1959 to 2017. Albert was named for the Albert River, which runs through the electorate and separates Logan City from City of Gold Coa ...

and from 1909 to 1915 as the Secretary of Mine and Public Works and Home Secretary of

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 ...

Early life

John George Appel was born on 15 March 1859 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 ...

, to George Appel and Maria Jane Appel, née Haussmann. He received his education first at

Brisbane Normal School Brisbane State High School (BSHS or commonly State High) is a partially selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Great Public Schools Association of Queensland, an ...

on Adelaide Street in Brisbane and then at the

Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...

. After further instruction at a private school run by Reverend D. A’Court, he passed the preliminary bar examination for solicitors and was articled to G.V. Hellicar, of the law firm Thompson & Hellicar, on 3 June 1875. After five years, he passed his finals and was admitted to the bar on 3 August 1880. On 18 March 1879, he had married Ruth Sutherland, the daughter of James Sutherland of Brisbane. Appel practiced law in Brisbane for some time until moving to

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is an urban centre within the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer River, it is approximately 40 km (25 mi) west of the Brisbane central business district. Ipswich is ...

as a partner of James Howard Gill, who had previously married Appel's sister, Annie Louise. In 1885 Gill became a crown solicitor and Appel continued the practice alone until 1887, when bad health forced him to

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. Appel was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and in 1888–1889, while living in Townsville, he was master of the North Australian Lodge No. 1, United Grand Lodge of Queensland.

Political and farming career

In 1889 Appel quit the practice of law for good and moved to a farm in

Nerang Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Nerang had a population of 17,048 people. Geography The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town ...

, at Glencoe, where he both farmed and operated a dairy. During this time he owned two houses, one at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and one at

Elston Elston is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district, in Nottinghamshire, England, to the south-west of Newark, from the A46 Fosse Way. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 631, increasing to 69 ...

, near his farm. He quickly became involved in local politics at Hamilton, serving on the Hamilton Shire Council from 1890 to 1908 and as chairman twice during that period. He also served as Hamilton's mayor two times, and was on the Nerang Shire Council from 1902 to 1908. In addition, he was active in the agricultural community as president of the Southport Horticultural and Agricultural Association and member of the Queensland Fish Board. During his career as a local politician, Appel made several attempts to transition to national politics, first standing for the electorate of Nundah as an Independent Liberal Democrat in 1893 and then again in 1907 for the electorate of Albert, losing both campaigns. In February 1908, however, he won the seat of Albert and held it until his death in 1929. On 29 October 1908 he became Secretary for Mines and Public Works under

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 ...

William Kidston William Kidston (17 August 1849 – 25 October 1919) was an Australian bookseller, politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911. Early life William Kidston was born in F ...

and then became Home Secretary instead on 29 June 1909. On 22 October 1909 he once again received the Mines portfolio and was both Mines Secretary and Home Secretary until 26 February 1915 when, due to a disagreement with then-Premier

Digby Denham Digby Frank Denham (25 January 1859 – 10 May 1944) was a politician and businessman in Queensland, Australia. He was a Premier of Queensland and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was the first of only two Queensland Premiers t ...

, he resigned. During his time in the ministry, his most significant achievements were health legislation and codification of the Local Authorities Act. He next became involved in the

Queensland Farmers' Union The National Party of Australia – Queensland (NPA-Q), commonly known as the Queensland Nationals, National Party of Queensland or simply the Nationals, was the Queensland branch of the National Party of Australia (NPA) until 2008. Prior to 1974 ...

, the forerunner of the Country Party, and led it in the Legislative Assembly from 1915 until 1918.

Later life

On 19 March 1929, he died at

Clayfield Clayfield is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,897 people. Geography Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Clayfield is bordered to ...

and was buried in

South Brisbane Cemetery South Brisbane Cemetery, also known as Dutton Park Cemetery, is a heritage-listed cemetery at 21 Fairfield Road and Annerley Road, Dutton Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the Brisbane River. It was built from 1870 to 1 ...

.Appel George
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 26 June 2014. He was survived by his wife Ruth, two daughters, and a son. One of his homes,

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

, was listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

on 21 October 1992.

References

External links

J. G. Appel photographs and papers

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appel, John George 1859 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Brisbane Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Burials at South Brisbane Cemetery 19th-century Australian farmers Australian Freemasons National Party (Queensland, 1917) members of the Parliament of Queensland People educated at Brisbane Grammar School Farmers from Queensland