Robert Philp
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Philp, KCMG (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland
businessman and politician
who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.
, Scotland
in 1851, the son of John Philp, a lime-kiln operator, and Mary Ann Philp (née Wylie). He emigrated to Brisbane
with his parents and siblings in 1862, where his father took a lease on the municipal baths, and later became involved in the cattle and sugar industries. Philp was educated at the National (Normal) School until 1863 when he started work at Bright Bros & Co shipping company, before moving to Townsville
in 1874 to take up the position of junior partner in the trading company Burns, Philp and Company
.
Burns, Philp & Co acted as agents and provisioners for the sugar cane and pastoral
industries that sustained Northern Queensland, and Philp served as manager of the Townsville office. Beginning in 1881, Philp diverted some of the company's vessels to the labour trade, recruiting South Pacific
Islanders (known as Kanakas
) to work as indentured labourers on the canefields, despite the reservations of his business partner James Burns. A royal commission into recruiting practices in 1885 coincided with a downturn in the sugar industry, and as a result the company's vessels were returned to other commercial operations. While this affair had been profitable for Burns,Philp, it did not contribute significantly to later commercial success, although it would not be Philp's last interest in the South Pacific labour trade.
Despite the success of Burns, Philp & Co, Philp made some poor personal investments, such as his loss of £5000 on the "Comet" mine. Like many others he was affected by the economic depression of the 1890s, borrowing £20,000 to purchase property in Brisbane which three years later was valued at only £16,230. He also owed considerable sums of money to the North Queensland Mortgage & Investment Co., as well as holding a £5000 mortgage with respect to other properties. Although Burns tried to assist him, Philp was forced to sell his shares in Burns, Philp & Co in 1893, and was still in financial difficulty as late as 1898, although by this stage he had restricted his business ventures to more conservative investments.
When the business-friendly McIlwraith
government lost office in 1883 it was succeeded by the Liberal government of Samuel Griffith
that sought to end the trade in Kanakas. As a prominent businessman who had served several times on the local council Philp was active in bankrolling and supporting candidates in opposition to Griffith. He supported the growing movement for the separation of North Queensland from the rest of the colony.
in 1886 as Member for Musgrave. He supported the North Queensland separatists in their unsuccessful attempts to gain independence, but spent most of his early parliamentary career preoccupied with his business affairs. His seat of Musgrave was abolished and in 1888 he was successfully returned as one of the two members for the electorate of Townsville
. His parliamentary activity was mainly in support of North Queensland and his business interests - extending railway links to North Queensland, and the abolition of import tariffs. When the import of Pacific islanders was temporarily halted in 1892 Philp was instrumental in securing its resumption.
until 1899. when the Continuous Ministry was briefly unseated by the Labor
government of Anderson Dawson
. Philp was an able administrator. He codified mining regulations and encouraged the private development of railways throughout the colony. The railway construction process was alleged to be corrupt by the Labor members, and after narrowly winning a vote of confidence in November 1899 James Dickson
resigned as Premier. Dawson's government lasted a week before losing Parliamentary support and Philp, despite his protestations in support of Dickson, was chosen as Premier by his colleagues.
The Australian colonies federated
in 1901 and the new Prime Minister
Edmund Barton
immediately ended the trade in Kanakas. By this stage Queensland was severely depleted in revenue, and Federation exacerbated this situation by depriving Queensland of excise and customs funds. Despite a severe drought and the dire state of the state's finances, Philp was re-elected in 1902. Discontent brewed among Ministerialists who were bitter at missing out on Cabinet positions, and in August 1903 Digby Denham
crossed the floor with supporters to bring down the government and form a coalition led by Arthur Morgan
.
Philp, with his genial nature, was ill-suited to the position of Opposition Leader
, and showed little enthusiasm in attacking the new government. Morgan briefly lost control of the Legislative Assembly in 1904 and Philp was called upon by Governor Sir Herbert Chermside
to form a ministry, but could not secure sufficient support from among his colleagues. The end result was a dissolution of Parliament and a solid defeat of the Opposition. Philp resumed his position as Leader and his conciliatory treatment of the government continued when fellow Scot William Kidston
became Premier. Philp cultivated good relations with Kidston and helped foster the increasing gap between Kidston and the Labor movement.
Philp's party was again unsuccessful in the elections of 1907. Kidston was encountering difficulties in securing the passage of his legislation through the intransigent Legislative Council
and after Lord Chelmsford
as Governor refused Kidston's request to appoint sufficient new councillors so as to give Kidston a majority, he resigned in November. Lord Chelmsford commissioned Philp as Premier, but, unable to entice any of Kidston's supporters to his cause, he remained without a majority in the Legislative Assembly, which promptly blocked supply
. Over Kidston's protests, Lord Chelmsford guaranteed supply through the issuing of writs and then dissolved the Assembly, but Philp failed to win the subsequent election.
In 1908 Kidston, alienated from the Labor party, relied on Philp's support to pass legislation approving construction of private railways. By October the two leaders had sufficient in common that they negotiated a merger of their two parties, ending Philp's career as Opposition Leader.
in 1912. He was a member of the University's first Senate, and its representative at a conference of universities in Glasgow in 1912. Philp lost his seat by a small margin in the Labor landslide of 1915 but remained active in politics, campaigning for the conscription referendums of the First World War and leading the resistance to the abolition of the Legislative Council. In 1920 he led a delegation to London
which thwarted Premier Theodore's attempts to gain loans from London financiers to fund government expenditure. On 17 June 1922 he died in Brisbane and was buried at Toowong Cemetery.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
businessman and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.
Early life
Philp was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1851, the son of John Philp, a lime-kiln operator, and Mary Ann Philp (née Wylie). He emigrated to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
with his parents and siblings in 1862, where his father took a lease on the municipal baths, and later became involved in the cattle and sugar industries. Philp was educated at the National (Normal) School until 1863 when he started work at Bright Bros & Co shipping company, before moving to Townsville
Townsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
in 1874 to take up the position of junior partner in the trading company Burns, Philp and Company
Burns Philp
Burns Philp was once a major player in the food manufacturing business. Since its delisting from the Australian Stock Exchange in December 2006 and the subsequent sale of its assets, the company has mainly become a cashed up shell company...
.
Burns, Philp & Co acted as agents and provisioners for the sugar cane and pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
industries that sustained Northern Queensland, and Philp served as manager of the Townsville office. Beginning in 1881, Philp diverted some of the company's vessels to the labour trade, recruiting South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
Islanders (known as Kanakas
Kanakas
Kanaka was the term for a worker from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia , Fiji and Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
) to work as indentured labourers on the canefields, despite the reservations of his business partner James Burns. A royal commission into recruiting practices in 1885 coincided with a downturn in the sugar industry, and as a result the company's vessels were returned to other commercial operations. While this affair had been profitable for Burns,Philp, it did not contribute significantly to later commercial success, although it would not be Philp's last interest in the South Pacific labour trade.
Despite the success of Burns, Philp & Co, Philp made some poor personal investments, such as his loss of £5000 on the "Comet" mine. Like many others he was affected by the economic depression of the 1890s, borrowing £20,000 to purchase property in Brisbane which three years later was valued at only £16,230. He also owed considerable sums of money to the North Queensland Mortgage & Investment Co., as well as holding a £5000 mortgage with respect to other properties. Although Burns tried to assist him, Philp was forced to sell his shares in Burns, Philp & Co in 1893, and was still in financial difficulty as late as 1898, although by this stage he had restricted his business ventures to more conservative investments.
When the business-friendly McIlwraith
Thomas McIlwraith
Sir Thomas McIlwraith KCMG was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1877 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893...
government lost office in 1883 it was succeeded by the Liberal government of Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC, was an Australian politician, Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and a principal author of the Constitution of Australia.-Early life:...
that sought to end the trade in Kanakas. As a prominent businessman who had served several times on the local council Philp was active in bankrolling and supporting candidates in opposition to Griffith. He supported the growing movement for the separation of North Queensland from the rest of the colony.
Early parliamentary career
Philp entered the Queensland Legislative AssemblyQueensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
in 1886 as Member for Musgrave. He supported the North Queensland separatists in their unsuccessful attempts to gain independence, but spent most of his early parliamentary career preoccupied with his business affairs. His seat of Musgrave was abolished and in 1888 he was successfully returned as one of the two members for the electorate of Townsville
Electoral district of Townsville
The district of Townsville is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. The seat is one of four within the Townsville urban area in North Queensland, and covers the Eastern and Northern suburbs of the City of Townsville as well as Magnetic Island and...
. His parliamentary activity was mainly in support of North Queensland and his business interests - extending railway links to North Queensland, and the abolition of import tariffs. When the import of Pacific islanders was temporarily halted in 1892 Philp was instrumental in securing its resumption.
Premier and opposition leader
Philp was a prolific speculator and in 1893 he was forced by debt to resign from the board of directors of Burns, Philp. In May of the same year McIlwraith, now governing in coalition with Griffith in what was known as the "Continuous Ministry", appointed Philp as Minister for Mines. He held several other ministerial posts, such as Public Instruction, Railways, Public Works and TreasurerTreasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
until 1899. when the Continuous Ministry was briefly unseated by the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government of Anderson Dawson
Anderson Dawson
Andrew Dawson , usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week in 1899...
. Philp was an able administrator. He codified mining regulations and encouraged the private development of railways throughout the colony. The railway construction process was alleged to be corrupt by the Labor members, and after narrowly winning a vote of confidence in November 1899 James Dickson
James Dickson
Sir James Robert Dickson, KCMG was an Australian politician and businessman, the 13th Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry....
resigned as Premier. Dawson's government lasted a week before losing Parliamentary support and Philp, despite his protestations in support of Dickson, was chosen as Premier by his colleagues.
The Australian colonies federated
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901 and the new Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
immediately ended the trade in Kanakas. By this stage Queensland was severely depleted in revenue, and Federation exacerbated this situation by depriving Queensland of excise and customs funds. Despite a severe drought and the dire state of the state's finances, Philp was re-elected in 1902. Discontent brewed among Ministerialists who were bitter at missing out on Cabinet positions, and in August 1903 Digby Denham
Digby Denham
Digby Frank Denham was an Australian politician, businessman and leading Queensland Orangeman. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1902 until 1915 representing the seat of Oxley, and was Premier of Queensland from 7 February 1911 to 1 June 1915...
crossed the floor with supporters to bring down the government and form a coalition led by Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)
Sir Arthur Morgan was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906.Morgan was born in Warwick, Queensland, the fourth son of James Morgan and his wife Kate, née Barton...
.
Philp, with his genial nature, was ill-suited to the position of Opposition Leader
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
, and showed little enthusiasm in attacking the new government. Morgan briefly lost control of the Legislative Assembly in 1904 and Philp was called upon by Governor Sir Herbert Chermside
Herbert Chermside
Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Charles Chermside GCMG, CB was a British soldier who served as Governor of Queensland in Australia from 1902 to 1904.-Early life and education:...
to form a ministry, but could not secure sufficient support from among his colleagues. The end result was a dissolution of Parliament and a solid defeat of the Opposition. Philp resumed his position as Leader and his conciliatory treatment of the government continued when fellow Scot William Kidston
William Kidston
William Kidston was an Australian politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911.-Early life:...
became Premier. Philp cultivated good relations with Kidston and helped foster the increasing gap between Kidston and the Labor movement.
Philp's party was again unsuccessful in the elections of 1907. Kidston was encountering difficulties in securing the passage of his legislation through the intransigent Legislative Council
Queensland Legislative Council
The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which took effect on 23 March 1922.Consequently, the...
and after Lord Chelmsford
Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford
Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland , Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford...
as Governor refused Kidston's request to appoint sufficient new councillors so as to give Kidston a majority, he resigned in November. Lord Chelmsford commissioned Philp as Premier, but, unable to entice any of Kidston's supporters to his cause, he remained without a majority in the Legislative Assembly, which promptly blocked supply
Loss of Supply
Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is constitutionally entitled to grant and deny supply. A...
. Over Kidston's protests, Lord Chelmsford guaranteed supply through the issuing of writs and then dissolved the Assembly, but Philp failed to win the subsequent election.
In 1908 Kidston, alienated from the Labor party, relied on Philp's support to pass legislation approving construction of private railways. By October the two leaders had sufficient in common that they negotiated a merger of their two parties, ending Philp's career as Opposition Leader.
Subsequent career
Philp remained in parliament, and also returned to tending his business interests. He enjoyed the status that his long parliamentary career gave him and participated in the foundation of the University of QueenslandUniversity of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in 1912. He was a member of the University's first Senate, and its representative at a conference of universities in Glasgow in 1912. Philp lost his seat by a small margin in the Labor landslide of 1915 but remained active in politics, campaigning for the conscription referendums of the First World War and leading the resistance to the abolition of the Legislative Council. In 1920 he led a delegation to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which thwarted Premier Theodore's attempts to gain loans from London financiers to fund government expenditure. On 17 June 1922 he died in Brisbane and was buried at Toowong Cemetery.
Further reading
- Bolton, G C. Robert Philp: Capitalist as Politician. In Murphy D, Joyce R, Cribb M, and Wear, R (Ed.), The Premiers of Queensland pp. 1–29. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3173-8.
- Bolton, Professor Geoffrey: Who was Robert Philp? Lecture presented Townsville 9 June 2008 (Sir Robert Philp Lecture Series, Number 1). See http://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/resources/1476.pdf