Thomas Henry FitzGerald (1824–88) was a pioneer in sugar cane farming in the early days of the colony 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...

. He was a politician, first in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, then in Queensland. His descendants went on to become notable names in Queensland politics, business and law. He will be best remembered for founding the town of Innisfail

Innisfail, Queensland

Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...

.

Over a varied and interesting life, FitzGerald was a surveyor, sugar cane farmer, Superintendent

Superintendent (politics)

Superintendent was the elected head of each Provincial Council in New Zealand from 1853 to 1876.-Historical context:Provinces existed in New Zealand from 1841 until 1876 as a form of sub-national government. After the initial provinces pre-1853, new provinces were formed by the New Zealand...

, Colonial Treasurer and pioneer.

Early life

Born in Carrickmacross

Carrickmacross

Carrickmacross or Carrickmacros is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 4,387 according to the 2006 census, making it the second largest town in the county. The town won the prestigious European Entente Florale Silver Medal Award. It is a market town which...

, County Monaghan

County Monaghan

County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland in 1824, FitzGerald, like many of his compatriots of the time, left Ireland to seek fortune elsewhere (see Irish diaspora

Irish diaspora

thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...

). While from County Monaghan, records from New Zealand in particular indicate that FitzGerald may have identified himself with County Kerry.

New Zealand

FitzGerald first went to New Zealand in 1842 where he trained and worked as a surveyor. He took a very active part in Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...

 politics, and was instrumental in the separation of this province from the Wellington Province

Wellington Province

The Wellington Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.-Area:...

, and on the formation of the Hawke's Bay Province

Hawke's Bay Province

The Hawke's Bay Province was a province of New Zealand. The province separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858, and existed until the abolition of provincial government in 1876...

 became its first Superintendent

Superintendent (politics)

Superintendent was the elected head of each Provincial Council in New Zealand from 1853 to 1876.-Historical context:Provinces existed in New Zealand from 1841 until 1876 as a form of sub-national government. After the initial provinces pre-1853, new provinces were formed by the New Zealand...

 from 1859 to 1861.

He represented the County of Hawke electorate in the 2nd New Zealand Parliament

2nd New Zealand Parliament

The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in preparation for 1860–61 election...

 in 1860, from 26 April to 5 November, when he apparently retired. This was the only period during which this electorate existed.

Queensland

In 1862, he then moved to the colony of Queensland, Australia. He settled 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...

 and, through his work, saw early experiments in growing sugar cane in Queensland's sub-tropical climate. In 1866, while surveying in Mackay, Queensland

Mackay, Queensland

Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....

 he established the Alexandra sugar cane plantation. Over time, he developed a further four plantations in the region. The Alexandra mill was notable as it introduced new efficiencies into sugar cane milling, making the farming of sugar cane more accessible to the small farmers who, until that point, had mainly farmed cotton and maize. Between 1865 and 1871 the land under sugar cultivation had increased from 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) to 2493 acres (10 km²). By 1876, this had increased to 5568 acres (23 km²) and by 1884 it had reached 19320 acres (78 km²).

Like many pioneers, FitzGerald juggled active interests in business, politics and professional life (as a surveyor, FitzGerald laid out the original town survey for what would become the city of Mackay).

In 1867, he was elected to the seat of Rockhampton. His election was challenged on a technicality and he resigned. He later ran for Parliament again, this time for the larger seat of Kennedy and was elected on 19 July 1867. He was appointed Colonial Treasurer in November 1868 in the government of Charles Lilley

Charles Lilley

Sir Charles Lilley was a Premier and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He had a significant influence on the form and spirit of state education in colonial Queensland which lasted well into the twentieth century.Lilley was born at Newcastle on Tyne, England, the son of Thomas...

, a post he held for three months. In June 1869, he resigned from the seat of Kennedy, later holding the seat of Bowen between 1873 and 1875. One of his agendas through his term was to legislate for the introduction of cheap labour for the canefields. FitzGerald's interest in this was very direct: times were very difficult in the industry and cheap labour was seen as an answer to the many problems in founding sugar cane plantations. The following years heaped even more misery upon him and his fellow farmers in the region, mainly in the torrential rains which brought about widespread cane rust. FitzGerald was declared bankrupt and had to resign his seat from Parliament, this time for ever.

FitzGerald returned to Brisbane, although his dreams of establishing settlements in far north Queensland had not died. With some backing from the Catholic Church (FitzGerald was a devout Catholic), he established, in 1880, a plantation and accompanying settlement, which later became the town of Innisfail in far north Queensland. However, despite the eventual success of the town, the early years were very trying for FitzGerald. Weather conditions (flooding in particular) made farming difficult, sugar prices were not good (competition against bigger milling operations did not make this easier) and ultimately managing the diseases that came with new settlements in sub-tropical regions proved too much for FitzGerald. He retired to Brisbane once again in poor health and died in 1888 at the age of 64.

Legacy

While having varying financial success in his life (more down than up), FitzGerald is remarked upon for his pioneering spirit - the desire to establish something greater than personal fortune despite all the failures and disappointments. For many Irish people deciding upon Australia as their new home in the world the result was often similar. What FitzGerald saw was the future - a rich and fertile far north Queensland that could house many people and feed even more. The areas he surveyed, from the Daintree down to Tully, are now some of the world's most desirable tourist locations and most productive farm lands.

What he did was take the first difficult steps in showing people that the land could be farmed well. The rush that ensued, particularly encouraged by the successful methods of the Alexandra mill, established an entire industry and led to the growth of a strong economy in north Queensland.

Innisfail was originally the name for FitzGerald's own property. The Surveyor-General called the town Geraldton, in FitzGerald's honour, in 1882. However, a Russian ship bound for Geraldton, Western Australia

Geraldton, Western Australia

Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...

 arrived at the port to collect a load of jarrah wood. This would be the equivalent of a ship sailing up the Potomac to Washington DC in order to collect trees from the forests of Washington State. A public meeting was held in 1910 and the name of the town was officially changed to Innisfail

Innisfail, Queensland

Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...

. A school in North Mackay is also named in his honour.

Another success which he did not live to see was that of his children and their descendants. In his immediate family of 11, most notable was Charles Borromeo FitzGerald, who held the seat of Mitchell from 1896 to 1902 and was appointed Attorney-General in the short-lived Labor government under Anderson Dawson

Anderson Dawson

Andrew Dawson , usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week in 1899...

 – the first Labor government in the world. Ironically, the Labor Party was one of the primary drivers of the White Australia Policy

White Australia policy

The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....

, looking to stop the influx of foreign labour into the Australian economy (in particular the sugar cane farms of north Queensland). In subsequent generations, the scions of the Thomas Henry FitzGerald family would establish themselves in business, law (the succeeding generations of lawyers named James Francis FitzGerald), education, the clergy and the military.

Here and there are other little legacies of FitzGerald - the place name of Te Kowai in Queensland was named by FitzGerald after the flower of the same name he first saw in New Zealand as a younger man.