Archibald Meston

Archibald Meston, around 1890

Archibald Meston (born March 26, 1851 in Towie , Aberdeenshire , Scotland , † March 11, 1924 in Brisbane in Queensland , Australia ) was a Scottish-born Australian politician , Protector of Aborigines , journalist , author , scientist and explorer .

Personal life

Archibald Meston immigrated to Sydney with his parents in 1859 , where they ran a farm near Ulmarra in New South Wales on the Clarence River .

On August 22, 1871, he married Margaret Frances Prowse Shaw in Sydney.

After long and varied careers, he went to Brisbane , where he died impoverished and was buried in South Brisbane Cemetery .

Professional and public life

In 1874 he worked on a sugar plantation near St Lucia on the Brisbane River , now the site of the University of Queensland . From 1875 to 1881 he was a journalist for the Ipswich Observer and later for The Toowoomba Chronicle . From 1878 to 1882 he represented Rosewood in the Queensland Legislative Assembly , where the Prime Minister of Queensland Thomas McIlwraith strongly supported. He lost his seat after being convicted of bankruptcy in a civil court.

In 1881 he went to Far North Queensland , where he worked briefly as a journalist with the Townsville Herald before moving to Cairns for The Cairns Post and living on the Barron River until 1889.

Although he was interested in growing sugar cane, he never ran it, but lived from journalism, speculation and real estate. In January 1889, Meston led a government expedition to the Bellenden Ker Range and explored the mountain peaks there. Because of this successful expedition, he received further public contracts.

In 1894 he was commissioned to investigate the living conditions of the Aborigines in Queensland, which led to his commitment to the enactment of the Aboriginal Protection and Restrictions of the Sale of Opium Act (1897). Meston was the Queensland Southern Protector of Aborigines from 1898 to 1903.

In 1910 he was appointed director of the Queensland Government Official Tourism Bureau in Sydney.

Throughout his life he was a distinguished journalist who, in addition to the newspapers mentioned, often published in The Queenslander , The Brisbane Courier and other newspapers.

Aftermath

Archibald Meston is remembered by two plants that he collected from the Bellenden Ker, Garcinia mestonii and Piper mestonii .

In 1936, the artist and friend BE Minns painted a publicly commissioned portrait of him that was exhibited at the Queensland National Art Gallery (now the Queensland Art Gallery ).

In 1938 Meston Street in Mitchelton , Brisbane , was named after him.

Publications

In addition to his newspaper articles and official reports to government agencies, he also published books:

1890 - Queensland Railway and Tourist Guide . Queensland Railway Commissioners: Brisbane.
1895 - Geographic History of Queensland. Dedicated to the Queensland People . Queensland Government: Brisbane.

Web links

Commons : Archibald Meston - collection of images, videos and audio files

Others

Jonathan Richards, "Crocodile Destroyer": A Critical Biography of Archibald Meston

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stephens, SE, (1974), "Meston, Archibald (1851-1924)", Australian Dictionary of Biography , Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, pp 243-244. [1]
↑ ^a ^b Australian National Herbarium biography: Archibald Meston
↑ Family Notices. . In: The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954) , National Library of Australia, August 25, 1871, p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
^ New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages . Retrieved September 20, 2011.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e MR. A. MESTON. . In: The Brisbane Courier (Qld .: 1864-1933) , National Library of Australia, March 12, 1924, p. 6. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
↑ GIFT TO ART GALLERY. . In: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld .: 1933-1954) , National Library of Australia, October 31, 1936, p. 7. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
↑ RENAMING STREETS. . In: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld .: 1933-1954) , National Library of Australia, November 3, 1938, p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2011.

personal data
SURNAME	Meston, Archibald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Journalist, author, Aboriginal protector in Queensland, Australia
DATE OF BIRTH	March 26, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH	Towie , Aberdeenshire , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH	March 11, 1924
Place of death	Brisbane , Queensland , Australia

[Stephens1974-1] Stephens, SE, (1974), "Meston, Archibald (1851-1924)", Australian Dictionary of Biography , Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, pp 243-244. [1]

[ANHbio-2] Australian National Herbarium biography: Archibald Meston

[smh-3] Family Notices. . In: The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842-1954) , National Library of Australia, August 25, 1871, p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2011.

[nsw-4] New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages . Retrieved September 20, 2011.

[obit-5] MR. A. MESTON. . In: The Brisbane Courier (Qld .: 1864-1933) , National Library of Australia, March 12, 1924, p. 6. Retrieved September 20, 2011.

[6] GIFT TO ART GALLERY. . In: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld .: 1933-1954) , National Library of Australia, October 31, 1936, p. 7. Retrieved September 20, 2011.

[7] RENAMING STREETS. . In: The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld .: 1933-1954) , National Library of Australia, November 3, 1938, p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2011.