Timothy Francis Quinlan (18 February 1861 – 8 July 1927) was an Irish-born Australian politician who represented the electorates of West Perth and Toodyay in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

between 1890 and 1894, and 1897 and 1911, respectively. Quinlan was also

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

for a period of time between 1905 and 1911. Born in

Borrisokane Borrisokane () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 15 km north of Nenagh, at the junction of the N52 road (Ireland), N52 and N65 road (Ireland), N65 roads. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a p ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, Ireland on 18 February 1861, Timothy Quinlan emigrated to Western Australia with his parents in 1863. Orphaned in 1865, he was raised by Joseph Thomas Reilly, and educated at the Cathedral Boys School in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. He worked for

John Monger John Henry Monger Jr (25 January 1831 – 23 December 1892) was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1870 to 1875, and again from 1890 to 1892. Monger was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1831; his father, John Henry ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

from 1875, and then for Alexander McRae at Roebourne. He was also involved in the pearling industry for about two years. In 1882, Quinlan leased the Shamrock Hotel in Perth from

Daniel Connor Daniel Connor (183112 January 1898) was an Irish people, Irish convict penal transportation, transported to colony of Western Australia, colonial Western Australia, who would go on to become one of the wealthiest, and most successful men in the ...

, an expiree

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

who had become one of the wealthiest men in the colony. In 1883, Quinlan married Teresa Connor (1863–1904), Daniel Connor's daughter, with whom he later had eight children. Bernard Gerald and Patrick Francis Quinlan both played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

in Ireland, while his oldest daughter, Teresa Gertrude Quinlan, married politician John Kirwan, who served in both

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

Federal Parliament 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 monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

. Quinlan's brother-in-law, Michael O'Connor, also served a term in the Legislative Assembly, where he represented the seat of

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

. From 1890, Quinlan became increasingly involved in public affairs. He was a member of the Perth City Council from 1890 to 1902, unsuccessfully contesting the mayoralty in 1900; and he became a Justice of the Peace in 1893. At the 1890 colonial election, he was elected to the

seat of West Perth. Quinlan became embroiled in a controversy regarding provision of state aid to private schools, which he and fellow Catholic MLAs Thomas Molloy and

Alfred Canning Alfred Wernam Canning (21 February 1860 – 22 May 1936) was an Australian surveyor. He is best known as the originator of the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia, a cattle track running through remote desert country between Halls Creek, ...

supported. The Catholic Vicar General, Father Anselm Bourke, established the Education Defence League with their assistance. However, the issue became a major one in the 1894 election, and all three MLAs lost their seats to opponents of state aid—Quinlan was defeated by Barrington Wood. In the election of 1897, he won the Legislative Assembly seat of Toodyay, which he would hold for nearly 14 years. From 21 November to 23 December 1901, he was Minister for Works in the short-lived Morgans ministry. He served as Chairman of Committees from 18 July to 23 November 1905, and

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...

from 23 November 1905 to 3 October 1911. Quinlan lost his seat in the election of

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

. In 1918, he contested a

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of Ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction in Christianity, Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical struc ...

seat in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, but was unsuccessful. Quinlan was a member of the Perth Hospital Board for many years, and its chairman from 1905 to 1913. He was a director of the South British Insurance Company, and of the Perth Building Society from 1901 to 1927, serving as its chairman after 1924. He was a trustee of the University Endowment Act, and a member of the Board of Management for the Deaf and Dumb, and the Institute for the Blind. He was created CMG in 1913. He died in Perth on 8 July 1927, and was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

General references

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinlan, Timothy 1861 births 1927 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Australian Roman Catholics Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Chairpersons of Committees of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from County Tipperary Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly West Perth Football Club administrators People from Toodyay, Western Australia Irish emigrants to colonial Australia