Sir Thomas McIlwraith
Scots-born engineer, politician, entrepreneur and pastoralist Sir Thomas McIlwraith (1835 – 1900) dominated Queensland's colonial politics through the last quarter of the 19th century with three terms as Premier (1879 to 1883, 1888, and 1893).
McIlwraith followed his eldest brother in emigrating to Victoria after studying civil engineering at the University of Glasgow. After mining at Bendigo, working as a surveyor and engineer on Victoria's railway network, he moved to Queensland, where he and his business partner had taken up eight runs in the Maranoa district.
McIlwraith entered Queensland's Legislative Assembly after a by-election in January 1870, resigned due to business problems in August the following year and returned as the member for Maranoa in November 1873. He joined Arthur Macalister's ministry in January 1874 as Secretary for Public Works and Mines, resigned from both posts the following October and became Premier for the first time after John Douglas' government was defeated in 1879.
As Premier, he championed Queensland’s development, advocated transcontinental railways, and promoted his business interests. He provided one of the impulses for Federation when he attempted to annex New Guinea in April 1883. His advocacy of transcontinental railways led to electoral defeat. Still, he returned for two more terms as Premier (13 June to 30 November 1888 and 27 March to 27 October 1893) before illness forced him to resign. In between, he served as Treasurer in a coalition government with his long-term arch-rival Sir Samuel Griffith.
Griffith's departure for the Supreme Court bench prompted McIlwraith's third term as Premier. When illness forced him to resign in favour of Hugh Nelson, he remained a minister of the Queensland cabinet until late November 1897, when the government supported a Labor Party resolution that he should step down from ministerial duties. By that stage, he had been in London for almost two years dealing with financial matters. He died there on 17 July 1900 and was buried in Scotland.
