| William Henry Walsh | |
|---|---|
W.H. Walsh about 1860 |
|
| Born | December 18, 1823 Milton, Berkshire, England |
| Died | April 4, 1888 (aged 64) Shafston Road, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Cause of death | traffic accident |
| Occupation | Squatter and investor. Member of New South Wales’ LA fr. 1859-1860, member of Queensland’s LA fr. 1865-1878 and member of Queensland’s LC fr. 1879-1888. Queensland Minister of the Crown 1870-1873, Speaker for Queensland’s LA fr.6th Jan 1874 to 20th Jul 1876. |
| Years active | 1850-1888 |
| Political party | Tory-oriented conservative |
| Religion | Anglican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Brown (1828-1913) |
| Children | Kathleen Maude Walsh, Eliza Walsh, Western Walsh, Alfred Degilbo Walsh, Hilda Walsh, William Walsh & Nugent Walsh |
William Henry Walsh (1823–1888) Queensland squatter and politician. Member of New South Wales' Legislative Assembly 1859-1860, member of Queensland's Legislative Assembly from 1865–1878 and Queensland’s Legislative Council from 1879-1888. Queensland Minister of the Crown 1870-1873, Speaker for Queensland’s Legislative Assembly from 6 January 1874 to 20 July 1876.
Walsh was supposedly born on 18 December 1823 at Milton, Berkshire, England, son of Charles Walsh, and his wife Elizabeth. He migrated to Australia on the Mary Sharp arriving 11 June 1844, afterwards gaining a few years of colonial experience working for David Perrier at Bathurst. He then went north to begin a squatting career of his own. In early 1847 he set up, for his former employer, a new station on the Macintyre River in the south-eastern part of the territory of the future Queensland. Shortly thereafter he went into the northern 'unknown' with men and a large flock of sheep financed by the Sydney-based Griffith, Fanning & Co. He subsequently formed the Degilbo and Monduran stations near the present day township of Gayndah in the North Burnett.
Working still for the same company, of which he had then become a co-proprietor, Walsh went further north in July 1853. During this venture he and his men made their mark on Queensland history as the first whites to 'blaze the track' from Burnett to the Boyne Valley near Gladstone, now a section of the Bruce Highway. Here Walsh formed yet another sheep station which he named Milton, allegedly after his birthplace or childhood home. He then married at Parramatta, New South Wales, on 20 Feb 1857 to the Danish born (yet Scottish and English descended) Elizabeth Brown (1828-1913), daughter of the Copenhagen-born merchant, John Brown (proprietor of Coulston House, Patterson River, formerly the proprietor of Kokkedal estate in Denmark). Afterwards he settled initially as the part owner, later sole proprietor of the vast Monduran and Degilbo stations, setting up the latter as a domicile for himself and his growing family.
Walsh was arguably the most conspicuous and outspoken Tory-conservative politicians in northern New South Wales and Queensland in the period up to the 1870s. He died in 1888 and was buried in Toowong Cemetery[1].