Claudius Buchanan Whish

Claudius Buchanan Whish (5 January 1827 - 28 February 1890) was a prominent sugar-planter, civil servant and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

The Hon

Claudius Whish

JP
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
23 June 1870 – 22 April 1872
Personal details
Born
Claudius Buchanan Whish

(1827-01-05)5 January 1827
Meerut, India
Died28 February 1890(1890-02-28) (aged 63)
Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeLost at sea after sinking of the RMS Quetta
NationalityIndian Australian
Spouse(s)Anne Dow Ker (m.1858 died with her husband in 1890)
RelationsReginald Roe (son-in-law)
OccupationSugarcane farmer, Surveyor, Public servant

Early life

Whish was born in London, the son of General Sir William Whish, Royal Artillery, and his wife Mary, née Hardwicke.

Military service

In 1851, Whish served in India under the 14th Light Dragoons as an interpreter and bazaar master, officer of public works and assistant quartermaster general of cavalry on General Jacob's staff during the Persian campaign of 1856.

Following a promotion to captain in 1857, Whish traveled to the Australian colonies of New South Wales and South Australia to buy cavalry remounts for the Indian army. He married Anne Whish, née Ker, in Bombay about 1858.[1]

Sugar cane plantation owner

Whish migrated to Queensland on the Young Australia and began the Oaklands sugar plantation in Caboolture on 15 August 1862. His crop did well and he became chairman of the local planters’ association and hired Pacific islanders to work on the crop. Although this move lost him the favour of the people, after 1865 it helped to preserve his £5000 investment.[2]

Portrait of his wife Anne Whish

Politics

Whish tried and failed to win the seat of East Moreton in the Queensland Legislative Assembly elections in 1867, and a committee on Pacific island labour was informed that whippings had taken place on Whish's estate. This evidence gained little credence, and as a justice for peace and a deeply religious man, Whish was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council in June 1870.[3] Although he is known as the first successful sugar-producer in Queensland, Whish's estate lost its worth and he resigned from the Legislative Council in March 1872, sold his machinery and became a surveyor of roads.

Later life

By September 1873, Whish was bankrupt with a debt of £5598, although he was promoted to inspector of road surveys for the southern division in 1875 and for the colony in 1880.

In 1889 Whish took his leave by setting out for England. He was aboard the fated RMS Quetta on the day it sank in the Torres Strait. His wife Anne perished with him; they were survived by their four daughters and two sons.

His daughter Anne Maud Whish married Reginald Heber Roe, who is known for being a headmaster of Brisbane Grammar School and a vice chancellor of the University of Queensland.[4]

Memorial

The Captain Whish Bridge over the Caboolture River on the Bruce Highway is named for him.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Finding aid to the Anne and Claudius Buchanan Whish Miniature Watercolours". State Library of Queensland. hdl:10462/eadarc/6659. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Thorne, E. (1876). The Queen of the Colonies; Or, Queensland as I Knew it. Oxford University: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington. pp. 320.
  3. "Votes and Proceedings". Legislative Assembly, Queensland. 2 (60). 1869.
  4. Bolton, G. C. "Biography - Claudius Buchanan Whish". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  5. Ludlow, Peter (9 March 2018). "Reminders of Peoples Past – 06 – Captain Whish". Moreton Bay History. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

"ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION." from Queensland Government Gazette, 1890.

"FORTIFIED SELECTIONS under ‘Crown Lands Alienation Act of 1868’" from Queensland Government Gazette, 1870.

Claudius Buchanan Whish's diary, State Library of Queensland.

"In the Insolvent Estate of Claudius Buchanan Whish, of Brisbane, gentleman." from Queensland Gazette, 1873.

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