Thomas Joseph Byrnes

The Honourable Thomas Joseph Byrnes
12th Premier of Queensland
In office 13 April 1898 – 27 September 1898
Preceded by	Sir Hugh Nelson
Succeeded by	James Dickson
Constituency	Warwick
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cairns
In office 29 April 1893 – 4 April 1896
Preceded by	Frederick Wimble
Succeeded by	Isidor Lissner
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Warwick
In office 4 April 1896 – 27 September 1898
Preceded by	Arthur Morgan
Succeeded by	Arthur Morgan
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 12 August 1890 – 13 March 1893
Personal details
Born	11 November 1860 Spring Hill, Queensland
Died	27 September 1898 (aged 37) Brisbane, Queensland
Resting place	Toowong Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Ministerialist
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Barrister
Religion	Roman Catholic

Thomas Joseph Byrnes (11 November 1860 – 27 September 1898) was Premier of Queensland from April 1898 until his death in October of the same year, having previously served in several ministerial positions in his parliamentary career.^[1] He was the first Roman Catholic Premier of Queensland and the first to die in office.

Early life

Byrnes was born in Spring Hill, Queensland, to Irish immigrants Patrick Byrnes and his wife Anna, née Tighe.^[1] Byrnes was educated at Bowen State School, then, winning a scholarship where topped the state,^[2] he studied at Brisbane Grammar School and then studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne, graduating with honours in both. During his time at the University of Melbourne he was Prelector of the Dialectic Society of Trinity College (University of Melbourne),^[3] winning the Society's inaugural Wigram Allen Prize in 1883, only months after it had been established by Sir George Wigram Allen.^[4] In 1882-83 Byrnes taught at Xavier College.^[1]

Monument at the burial site of Thomas Joseph Byrnes at Brisbane's Toowong Cemetery.

Career

Byrnes was admitted as a barrister in Victoria on 8 July 1884 and returned for a Queensland admission on 5 August; he then began a successful career as a barrister.^[1] Byrnes' talent brought him to the attention of fellow barrister Sir Samuel Griffith, then Premier of Queensland, who had him appointed Solicitor-General with a seat in the Legislative Council. Byrnes stood down from the Legislative Council to successfully stand for Cairns in the Legislative Assembly in 1893. He represented Cairns until 1896, after which he represented Warwick in the Legislative Assembly from 1896 to his death in 1898.^[5]

Byrnes continued his private law practice and participated in two major Supreme Court of Queensland cases. In the Queensland Investment Co. v. Grimley case, Byrnes successful conduct of the defence was praised widely. In the John Robb arbitration case of 1892, praise for Byrnes skill was accompanied by public objection to the high fees paid to Samuel Griffith as leading counsel and to Byrnes as one of his assistants.^[1] In 1895 and 1897, Byrnes represented Queensland at meetings of the Federal Council of Australasia.^[1]

Sir Thomas McIlwraith appointed him as Attorney-General of Queensland in the Continuous Ministry, and when Hugh Nelson stepped down as Premier; Byrnes, the youngest member of the Ministry by a large margin, became Premier.

Statue of Thomas Joseph Byrnes in Centenary Place, Brisbane

Statue of Thomas Joseph Byrnes in Warwick

Late life

Byrnes' ability had led many to expect great things of him, but he contracted measles then pneumonia and died on 27 September 1898. Byrnes was accorded a state funeral which proceeded from St Stephen's Cathedral to the Toowong Cemetery.^[6]

Legacy

Byrnes is commemorated by two statues, one in Centenary Place in Brisbane and the heritage-listed T J Byrnes Monument in Warwick, both funded by public subscriptions.^[1]

The township of Byrnestown in Queensland is named after him, as is its main street Byrnes Parade and its railway station.^[7]

References

• Byrnes, Thomas Joseph — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

1. Rosemary Howard Gill, 'Byrnes, Thomas Joseph (1860 - 1898)' , Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp 517-519. Retrieved 19 April 2010
2. Serle, Percival (1949). "Byrnes, Thomas Joseph". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
3. "DEATH OF THE QUEENSLAND PREMIER.". The Advertiser. South Australia. 27 September 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 25 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "NEWS OF THE DAY.". The Age (8924). Victoria, Australia. 24 September 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 25 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860-2012 and of the Legislative Council 1860-1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2009-2012: The 53rd Parliament. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
6. "Classified Advertising.". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 29 September 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
7. "Byrnestown (entry 45325)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

External links