William Brookes (14 October 1825 -16 July 1898) was a member of both 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, ...

and 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 Australia.

Early life

Brookes was born in Hanging Ditch,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, to William Brookes and his wife, Mary (née Oakden) and was educated at Hall State School, Manchester, and was also privately schooled. He began his working career as an apprentice

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

before arriving in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1848 on the SS 'Bengal'. After trying his hand unsuccessfully as a gold miner at Turon, he returned to Sydney and joined the

Union Bank of Australia The Union Bank of Australia was a bank that operated in Australia and New Zealand from 1837 to 1951. The Union Bank was established in London in October 1837 with a subscribed capital of £500,000. The foundation of the bank followed a visit t ...

as a clerk.Brookes, William (1825–1898)
– ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

''. Retrieved 14 March 2015. In 1853, Brookes was sent to

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 ...

to work with J.S. Turner in opening a branch of the Union Bank and five years later, in partnership with his brother Benjamin, purchased an

Ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

's business 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 ...

Political career

Brookes entered politics in 1858, serving as an alderman in the

Brisbane Municipal Council The Town of Brisbane was a Local government in Australia, local government area of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. It was later elevated to city status and was the City of Brisbane from 1903 until it was amalagamated into ...

till 1866. He was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the member for East Moreton in September 1863 but nine days later his election was declared null and void and in the resulting by-election he lost to

Robert Cribb Robert Cribb (7 January 1805 – 16 April 1893) was an Australian parliamentarian who represented the district of East Moreton in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and the districts of Town of Brisbane and East Moreton in the Queensl ...

. In 1864, Brookes stood for the seat of Town of Brisbane which he duly won however, once again his election was declared null and void. This time though, he won the by-election and held the seat till 1867 when he was defeated by Dr Kevin O'Doherty. His final representation in the Assembly came when he won the seat of North Brisbane in 1882, holding it for six years until losing the seat in 1888. Brookes was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in 1891, serving for six years until his retirement from politics in 1897.

Opposition to the Melanesian labour trade

As a liberal humanitarian he was an ardent opponent of the Melanesian labour trade. He stressed its worst features; that the labourers were treated like chattels, and that they were often obtained illegally or unwittingly. In the Select Committee on the General Question of Polynesian Labour 1876, Brookes stated "The idea of obtaining servants over whom we could have unlimited control; who would be obedient, docile, handy, industrious... for wages that are so small they seemed to be next to no wages at all... drove out all consideration of how these people were procured" and "so it came to pass that citizens,... saw no shame in availing themselves of the labor of poor helpless savages who have been inveigled from their native homes, or... who had been sold at their island by their chiefs, and bought by white men and bought a second time at our wharves in

, Maryborough,

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

and Mackay" "They had a market price; were quoted at so much a head...They were, in fact, merchandise."

Personal life

In Sydney in 1849, Brookes married Mary Ann Evans, whom he had met on the voyage to Australia and together they had five children. Brookes died in 1898 and was buried in South Brisbane Cemetery.Brooks William
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, William Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1825 births 1898 deaths Burials at South Brisbane Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians British emigrants to the Colony of New South Wales Colony of Queensland people