Conservative Party (Queensland)

The Conservative Party, also known simply as the Conservatives, was an Australian political party in Queensland active from the 19th century until early 1900s.[1] It was largely associated with former premiers Thomas McIlwraith and Robert Philp, to the point where it was sometimes referred to as the McIlwraith Conservatives or Philp Conservatives respectively.[2]

Conservative Party
Historic leadersThomas McIlwraith
Boyd Dunlop Morehead
Robert Philp
Dissolved1908
Merged intoLiberal Party

Although party structures in colonial politics were informal, the Conservatives had multiple leaders and competed in elections until they merged with the Kidstonites to become the Liberal Party in 1908.[3]

History

The first Queensland Premier, Robert Herbert, was a Squatter-Conservative.[4] 'Squatting' is a historical Australian term that referred to someone occupying a large tract of Crown land to graze livestock.[5] A number of MPs in rural electorates identified using the label until around 1880.

Thomas McIlwraith led a more formal Conservative Party, starting 1879.[2] Boyd Dunlop Morehead took over as Conservative leader in 1888.[2]

From 1890 until 1899, the Continuous Ministry was combined out of a merger of Samuel Griffith's Liberals and the Conservatives, forming the humorously titled Griffilwraith.

Robert Philp took over leadership of the Conservatives when the Continuous Ministry came to an end, operating as Ministerialists at elections. In 1907, William Kidston formed the Kidstonites. The Conservatives won 29 seats at the state election later that year with 40.58% of the vote.[6] In 1908, the Conservatives lost 7 seats at the election, leading to Philp's resignation days later.[7]

In October 1908, the Conservatives merged with the Kidstonites to become the Liberal Party.[3]

References
  1. "Hamilton, John (1841–1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  2. "QUEENSLAND". Trove. The Argus.
  3. Wanka, K.J. (1970). "William Kidston - The Dilemma of the Powerful Leader". In Murphy, Denis Joseph; Joyce, Roger Bilbrough; Hughes, Colin A. (eds.). Prelude to Power: The Rise of the Labour Party in Queensland 1885-1915. Jacaranda Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780701603120.
  4. Serle, Percival (2006) [1949]. Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Project Gutenberg of Australia. OCLC 74490966.
  5. "Squattocracy". State Library of NSW. 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2022-10-11.  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  6. Australian Government and Politics Database. "Parliament of Queensland, Assembly election, 18 May 1907". Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  7. Australian Government and Politics Database. "Parliament of Queensland, Assembly election, 5 February 1908". Retrieved 14 February 2009.
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