Richard Casey (Queensland politician)

Bridal photograph of Evelyn Jane Casey, née Harris, 1888

Richard Gardiner Casey was born on 17 December 1846 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (present day Tasmania), the son of Dr Cornelius Gavin Casey and his wife Letitia (née Gardiner).[1][2]

Casey was educated at Hobart High School and Launceston Grammar School.[1]

On 23 May 1888, Richard Gardiner Casey married Evelyn Jane Harris at St John's Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, Queensland; the service was conducted by the Rev. Benjamin Glennie.[3] Evelyn was the daughter of George Harris (a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council) and granddaughter of George Thorn (senior) of the Normanby pastoral station (a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council). The reception was held at the bride's parents' residence, Newstead House (then one of Brisbane's finest homes), after which the couple left for a honeymoon at Sandgate, then a popular beachside holiday resort.[4]

The couple had three children:[5]

• Richard Gavin Gardner Casey (1890–1976), a Governor-General of Australia[5]
• Eileen Ruth Evelyn Casey (1893–1894)[5][6]
• Dermot Armstrong Casey (1897–1977)[7]

On 19 May 1888 (the 1888 colonial election) Casey was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the electoral district of Warrego. He held the seat until the 1893 election.[8]

On returning from England to Australia in 1919 on the SS Makura, Casey was taken ill and taken ashore in Honolulu, Hawaii where he died on 25 April 1919.[1][2]