William Stephens (Australian politician)

The Hon
William Stephens
The Hon William Stephens, Minister for Public Instruction, 1907
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Woolloongabba
In office
12 May 1888 – 28 March 1896
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byThomas Dibley
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for South Brisbane
In office
28 March 1896 – 28 August 1904
Preceded byCharles Midson
Succeeded byWilliam Reinhold
In office
18 May 1907 – 5 February 1908
Preceded byWilliam Reinhold
Succeeded byPeter Airey
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
1 July 1912 – 23 March 1922
Personal details
Born
William Stephens

(1857-11-07)7 November 1857
South Brisbane, Colony of New South Wales
Died30 April 1925(1925-04-30) (aged 67)
Southport, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeSouth Brisbane Cemetery
NationalityAustralian
Political partyMinisterial
Other political
affiliations		Opposition
SpousePauline Ann Caroline Effey
RelationsThomas Blacket Stephens (father)
OccupationCompany director

William Stephens (1857–1925) was a businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

Early life

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William Stephens was born on 7 November 1857 at South Brisbane, the eldest son of Thomas Blacket Stephens and his wife Ann (née Connah),[1] and raised at the family home of Cumbooquepa on Vulture Street, South Brisbane.[2] He was educated at the National Public School, then the Brisbane Grammar School.[3]

Commencing as a merchant, he took over the family estate on the death of his father.[4]

He married Pauline Ann Caroline Effey in March 1900,[5] and they had three sons and three daughters:[4] Thomas Blacket (1902–),[6] William (1909–), and Edward Harry (1916–1916); Dorothea Louise (1901–),[7] Ann Pauline (1905–1984), and Marian Victoria (1907–).

From 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land transferred to Stephens by his father in 1886, Stephens built the family residence of Waldheim, off Ipswich Road, Annerley (now 35 Waldheim Street), about 1900 at the cost of €300;[8] 'Waldheim' being a German word for 'home in the forest'. (It is now a Brisbane City Council designated local heritage place.[8])

Politics

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In 1882 he was elected as a member of the Yeerongpilly Divisional Board, and later, for thrity-six years, the Nerang Divisonal Board (later the Nerang Shire Council).[4] In 1887 he was electred president of the Metropolitan Traffic Board, and also became an alderman of the south ward, Brisbane. The South and Woolloongabba boards were merged the following year to become the City of South Brisbane, where he became the first mayor, in 1888, 1889, and 1901.[4][3]

Stephens was elected on 12 May 1888 to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in Woolloongabba. In the 1893 colonial election, he successfully contested the seat of South Brisbane which he held until 27 August 1904, when he was defeated in the 1904 state election. He contested South Brisbane again in the 1907 election and was successfully, representing the electorate from 18 May 1907 to 5 February 1908, when he was again defeated in the 1908 election.[9][10] During this last period, he was Secretary for Public Instruction and Agriculture from 19 November 1907 to 18 February 1908.

In the 1912 election, Stephens unsuccessfully contested Buranda.

On 1 July 1912, he was appointed for life to the Queensland Legislative Council, a position he held until the Council was abolished on 23 March 1922.[9]

Business interests

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Stephens had many business interests in South Brisbane and other areas, including:[3]

Later life

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Following ill health late in life, Stephens collapsed from a stroke while holidaying at Southport, Queensland on Monday 27 April 1925. He was taken to a private hospital where he died on Thursday 30 April 1925. His funeral left his home Waldheim on Friday 1 May 1925 for his burial at South Brisbane Cemetery.[1][3] Many prominent citizens attended his funeral.[11]

His brother Thomas Connah Stephens (1868–1937) lived in the same street at Knutsford, on the corner of Waldheim and Blacket Streets.[12][2]

Stephens also donated a block of land 'to be held in perpetuity for the scout movement' on Waldheim Street, opposite the Junction Park State School, upon which was erected a 40 by 32 feet (12.2 m × 9.8 m) two-storey building costing £331, which was opened on Saturday 7 December 1929.[13][14] It was for the use of the Stephens Boy Scout and Tarragindi Girl Guide groups; Stephens being the locale named for Stephens' father, and Tarragindi being an adjoining suburb.

His wife Pauline died on 2 August 1960, aged 85.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Brisbane's historic homes". The Queenslander Illustrated Weekly. Queensland, Australia. 11 February 1932. p. 35. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d "MR. WILLIAM STEPHENS". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 1 May 1925. p. 10. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Notable career". Daily Mail (Brisbane). No. 7230. Queensland, Australia. 1 May 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Social Doings". The Week (Brisbane). Vol. XLIX, no. 1, 265. Queensland, Australia. 23 March 1900. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Here comes the bride". Daily Standard. No. 7016. Queensland, Australia. 13 July 1935. p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "To enter sisterhood". The Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 9 January 1934. p. 11 (City Final Last Minute News). Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b "Stephen's Farm Homestead (former)". Local heritage places. Brisbane City Council. September 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Part 2.15 – Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2017 and the Legislative Council 1860–1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ "Representatives of Queensland State Electorates 1860-2017" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2012-2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  11. ^ "LATE MR. W. STEPHENS". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 2 May 1925. p. 17. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Family Notices". The Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 29 January 1937. p. 12 (City Final Last Minute News). Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Scouts and Guides. Hall Opened at Stephens. Value of the Movement". The Telegraph (Brisbane). No. 17, 789. Queensland, Australia. 9 December 1929. p. 20. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "The "Courier" Budget of pictorial news". The Brisbane Courier. No. 22, 423. Queensland, Australia. 9 December 1929. p. 16. Retrieved 15 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Pauline Anna Caroline STEPHENS". Brisbane City Council memorial search. Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
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Media related to William Stephens (Queensland) at Wikimedia Commons

Parliament of Queensland
New seat Member for Woolloongabba
1888–1896 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for South Brisbane
1896–1904 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for South Brisbane
1907–1908 		Succeeded by
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