William Duckett White (1807–1893) was a

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

and politician in

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 ...

, Australia. He was a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Council Following are lists of members of 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 t ...

Early life

William White was born into a large

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family on 5 October 1807 in

Moate Moate (; ) is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 3,013. The town's Irish name, ''An Móta'', is derived from the term motte-and-bailey, as the Normans built an example of this type of fortificati ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Ireland and was educated at the Quaker school in

Mountmellick Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the N80 road (Ireland), N80 road, 6 km north of Portlaoise. The town is within Mountmellick (parish), Mountmellick Roman Catholic p ...

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

. In 1835 William married Jane Simpson from

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Pastoral career

William and Jane White and their two children emigrated from Ireland to

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 ...

as assisted immigrants in 1840. When he arrived in Australia, William assumed his grandmother's maiden name as a second Christian name, and became known thereafter as William Duckett White. From 1842-44 White taught school in the Mangrove area north of Sydney until accepting an offer in 1845 to manage the Beau Desert pastoral run in the

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 ...

District for his cousin Joseph Phelps Robinson. When Robinson died in 1848, his brother George Robinson and W.D. White took over the lease of Beau Desert, one of the largest runs on the

Logan River The Logan River (Yugambeh dialect, Yugambeh: ''Dugulumba'') is a perennial river in the Scenic Rim Region, Scenic Rim, City of Logan, Logan and City of Gold Coast, Gold Coast local government areas of the South East Queensland, South East region ...

. In 1857, White left Beau Desert under the management of his son Ernest White and William, and with his wife Jane and their daughter Helena moved to

Eagle Farm Eagle Farm is an eastern industrial suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagle Farm had a population of 11 people. The neighbourhood of Whinstanes is located in Eagle Farm (). Geography Eagle Farm is situated no ...

near

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 ...

. The Robinson-White partnership acquired the leases of many cattle runs in Queensland. In addition to the Beau Desert lease they took up three runs in the

Gold Coast hinterland The Gold Coast hinterland is an area of South East Queensland, Australia that comprises the Tweed Range, Nimmel Range, Tamborine Mountain, Numinbah Valley, eastern parts of the McPherson Range and western parts of suburban Gold Coast, Queens ...

in the early 1850s: Tubber in 1852 and Murry Jerry and Dungogie runs in 1853. In 1867 they took up the lease of

Pimpama Pimpama ( ) is a northern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The name is of Aboriginal origin. The suburb contains numerous schools with the first opening in the 1870s. A small farmi ...

and Cumboomba (or Coombabah) runs in the

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,425 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenle ...

area but these were thrown open for selection in 1869, and the lease forfeited. In 1871 White and partner William Barker leased the runs of Kerry, Sarabah, and Nindooinbah adjacent to Beau Desert. Much of Beau Desert was cut up for closer settlement in the 1860s and early 1870s following which WD White and his sons acquired the Bluff Downs leases in the Kennedy District. From 1882 the W.D. Whites & Sons formed a partnership with William Collins, Sir Malcolm McEachern, and Sir Simon Fraser. This partnership, called White Collins & Co., leased Beaudesert North, Eulolo, and Glen Ormiston and survived for about a century. The White partnership also owned land in

Tingalpa Tingalpa is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tingalpa had a population of 8,461 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west by Bulimba Creek, a tributary of the Brisbane River. The suburb has some ol ...

( Lota) and town properties in Beenleigh and

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Lota House

Lota House was erected on the Tingalpa land in 1865-66 and on completion it was transferred to W.D.White's wife Jane. Jane owned Lota House until her death in 1887 and bequeathed it to their son Albert with a proviso that it remain William's home for his lifetime. William died at Lota House in 1893 and is buried alongside Jane in the Tingalpa churchyard.

Politics

White was appointed to 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, ...

on 26 April 1861. Although a lifetime appointment, he resigned from the Council on 5 August 1880.

Later life

WD White was active in the local community, being one of the first members of the Bulimba Divisional Board established in 1879–80, a warden of the Tingalpa Anglican Church (now Christ Church, Tingalpa). White died 11 August 1893 at Lota House. He was buried in

Tingalpa Cemetery Christ Church Tingalpa and Burial Ground is a heritage-listed former Anglican church at 1341 Wynnum Road, Tingalpa, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1868 to 1993. It is now known as the Pioneer Wedding Chapel. It was ...

( Christ Church, Tingalpa) on Saturday 12 August 1893.

References

Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, William Duckett Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1807 births 1893 deaths People from Moate Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 19th-century Australian politicians Irish emigrants to Australia Colony of Queensland people