Colin Rankin
Encyclopedia
Colin Dunlop Wilson Rankin (20 January 1869, Galston, Ayrshire
, Scotland
– 2 November 1940, Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
) was a soldier, politician, cane farmer and company director.
The second son of William Rankin, colliery manager, and his wife Jane, née Anderson, he was educated at Galston Public School and Kilmarnock Academy
. Colin Rankin accompanied his family to Queensland
when his father became manager of Queensland Collieries Co. Ltd. at Howard, near Maryborough
in 1884. Rankin joined its staff and from 1886 the Queensland Defence Force. By 1890 he was assistant company manager, grew sugar at Tigh-na-Bienne on the Isis, near Bundaberg, north of Howard, and became a clerk and valuator with the Isis Divisional Board (1890 - 1899).
A major when the South African War broke out, Rankin volunteered for service and on 13 January 1900 sailed with the Second Queensland Contingent. He was appointed second-in-command of the First Australian Regiment of Mounted Infantry and saw action at Diamond Hill, Riet Vlei and elsewhere. Invalided to England, Rankin returned to Queensland in March 1901. In 1903 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the Wide Bay Infantry Regiment, assuming command in 1906.
He had been chairman of the Howard Shire Council since its formation in 1903, and in 1905 successfully contested the seat of Burrum in the Legislative Assembly after unsuccessful attempts to gain it in 1899 and 1904. He married Annabelle Davidson Thomson on 5 September 1906 at Maryborough; they settled on his plantation.
Rankin promoted rural interests during his thirteen years in parliament. He became a council-member of the Australian Sugar Producers' Union. His membership of the Farmers' Parliamentary Union (Country Liberal Party from 1913), however, exacerbated disunity among government ranks. After unsuccessfully challenging Denham's leadership, Rankin was secretary for railways briefly in 1915, then became deputy leader of the Liberal Opposition when Labor won the May election.
During World War I
Rankin served briefly in 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force
in Egypt
before appointment to command the 11th Brigade
in the newly formed 3rd Division, as temporary brigadier general from 1 May 1916. On Salisbury Plain
in England, he was dismissed by Major General Sir John Monash
as "incapable". He returned home in November, and retired with the honorary rank of colonel in February 1917. He failed to hold Burrum in the 1918 election. Next year when his brother, William Charles Rankin, died he succeeded him as general manager of Queensland Collieries Co. Ltd.
As managing director in 1924-1940, Rankin continued a tradition of paternal despotism. He had found the company in poor shape with a falling output and inadequate coal reserves; charges have also been made of 'intense exploitation, sub-standard conditions and hard-fistedness'. He courageously took out new leases in the Burrum district and opened new mines which helped the company to weather the Depression of the 1930s. Rankin died in a private hospital in Brisbane
on 2 November 1940, survived by his wife and two daughters, and was buried with Anglican rites in Howard Cemetery.
His daughter, Annabelle
, became the first woman to enter the Federal parliament from Queensland
.
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, 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...
– 2 November 1940, 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...
, Queensland
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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) was a soldier, politician, cane farmer and company director.
The second son of William Rankin, colliery manager, and his wife Jane, née Anderson, he was educated at Galston Public School and Kilmarnock Academy
Kilmarnock Academy
Kilmarnock Academy is a comprehensive school, one of several in Kilmarnock, a town in western Scotland. It can trace its history back to the local burgh school founded in the 1630s and the first school to bear the name was established in 1807...
. Colin Rankin accompanied his family to Queensland
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...
when his father became manager of Queensland Collieries Co. Ltd. at Howard, near Maryborough
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
in 1884. Rankin joined its staff and from 1886 the Queensland Defence Force. By 1890 he was assistant company manager, grew sugar at Tigh-na-Bienne on the Isis, near Bundaberg, north of Howard, and became a clerk and valuator with the Isis Divisional Board (1890 - 1899).
A major when the South African War broke out, Rankin volunteered for service and on 13 January 1900 sailed with the Second Queensland Contingent. He was appointed second-in-command of the First Australian Regiment of Mounted Infantry and saw action at Diamond Hill, Riet Vlei and elsewhere. Invalided to England, Rankin returned to Queensland in March 1901. In 1903 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the Wide Bay Infantry Regiment, assuming command in 1906.
He had been chairman of the Howard Shire Council since its formation in 1903, and in 1905 successfully contested the seat of Burrum in the Legislative Assembly after unsuccessful attempts to gain it in 1899 and 1904. He married Annabelle Davidson Thomson on 5 September 1906 at Maryborough; they settled on his plantation.
Rankin promoted rural interests during his thirteen years in parliament. He became a council-member of the Australian Sugar Producers' Union. His membership of the Farmers' Parliamentary Union (Country Liberal Party from 1913), however, exacerbated disunity among government ranks. After unsuccessfully challenging Denham's leadership, Rankin was secretary for railways briefly in 1915, then became deputy leader of the Liberal Opposition when Labor won the May election.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Rankin served briefly in 1915 with the Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
before appointment to command the 11th Brigade
11th Brigade (Australia)
The Australian 11th Brigade is an Australian Army brigade which currently comprises most Australian Army Reserve units located in Queensland. The Brigade was first formed in early 1916 as part of the 3rd Division and saw action during World War I and World War II.-Brigade Structure:*Headquarters...
in the newly formed 3rd Division, as temporary brigadier general from 1 May 1916. On Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
in England, he was dismissed by Major General Sir John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
as "incapable". He returned home in November, and retired with the honorary rank of colonel in February 1917. He failed to hold Burrum in the 1918 election. Next year when his brother, William Charles Rankin, died he succeeded him as general manager of Queensland Collieries Co. Ltd.
As managing director in 1924-1940, Rankin continued a tradition of paternal despotism. He had found the company in poor shape with a falling output and inadequate coal reserves; charges have also been made of 'intense exploitation, sub-standard conditions and hard-fistedness'. He courageously took out new leases in the Burrum district and opened new mines which helped the company to weather the Depression of the 1930s. Rankin died in a private hospital in 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...
on 2 November 1940, survived by his wife and two daughters, and was buried with Anglican rites in Howard Cemetery.
His daughter, Annabelle
Annabelle Rankin
Dame Annabelle Jane Mary Rankin DBE was the second woman member of the Australian Senate, the first woman from Queensland to sit in the Parliament of Australia, the first woman to have a federal portfolio and the first woman to be appointed head of a foreign mission.-Biography:Rankin was born in...
, became the first woman to enter the Federal parliament from Queensland
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...
.