Richard Joseph Smith (1819 – 15 November 1883) was a member of both the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

and 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, ...

Early life

Smith was born at

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1819 to Richard Smith and arrived 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 ...

as a young boy around 1824. By 1847 he had travelled to

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 ...

and established a boiling down works at Kangaroo Point. In 1849 he established the Town Marie Boiling Down Works on the Bremer River at Karalee, near Ipswich.

Politics

Smith became an elected member of the New South Wales Legislative Council on 1 March 1853, representing the Pastoral Districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, and Maranoa. His term ended on 29 February 1856. After

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 ...

had separated from New South Wales, Smith was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council on 3 July 1863. Smith was declared

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

in 1866 and as a consequence resigned from the Council.

Civic life

The Governor of Queensland appointed Richard Joseph Smith to be First Lieutenant of the Cavalry of the Queensland Volunteer Rifle Corps on 26 May 1860. After his resignation he became a crown law agent 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, ...

, before his appointment as a land commissioner in the Moreton area.

Personal life

In 1861, Smith married Maria Susanna Stutchbury in Brisbane and together they had one daughter. He died in 1883 and was buried in Ipswich General Cemetery.Ipswich General Anglican "B" Section
— Australian Cemeteries. Retrieved 7 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Richard 1819 births 1883 deaths Burials at Ipswich General Cemetery English emigrants to colonial Australia Politicians from Leicester Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians