Stephen Simpson (doctor)

Stephen Simpson (1793–1869) was a doctor and civil servant in Queensland, Australia. He was a founding Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

The Hon Dr Stephen Simpson JP
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 23 May 1860 – 3 February 1865
Personal details
Born	Stephen Simpson (1793-07-29)29 July 1793 Wolston, Warwickshire, England
Died	1 March 1869(1869-03-01) (aged 75) Marylebone, London, England
Nationality	English Australian
Spouse	Sophia Anne Simpson (m.1838 d.1840)
Occupation	Surgeon, Homoeopathic practitioner, Police magistrate

Early life

Stephen Simpson was born on 29 July 1793 in Wolston, Warwickshire, England, the son of Thomas Simpson and his wife Anne (née Bank).^[1]

From 1813 to 1817 he was a soldier with the 4th Light Dragoons. After that he studied medicine in Edinburgh. He became interested in homeopathy.^[2]

Queensland years

Simpson immigrated to Queensland, arriving first in Sydney on the Wilmot and then arriving in Moreton Bay in July 1840.^[2]

Stephen Simpson was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands for the Moreton Bay District in 1842 when the area was first opened up for free settlement following the closure of the penal colony. He was a doctor of medicine, a Justice of the Peace, a police magistrate and a founding Member of the Queensland Legislative Council following separation from New South Wales.

Simpson established a Border Police Station on Woogaroo Creek/Brisbane River in early 1843. He travelled throughout the Moreton Bay area for his work, part of which involved local Aboriginal people.^[3] His border police were involved in the Battle of One Tree Hill.^[4]

In March to April 1843 he undertook an exploration of the Bunya Country in the Wide Bay district.

 

Wolston House, now in the suburb of Wacol, 1890

After first living at Eagle Farm then at Petrie's Bight, Simpson established his first cottage at Woogaroo (now Goodna), situated between Brisbane and Ipswich on what was to become the site of the Wolston Park Hospital. In 1851, when the opportunity to buy land in the area arose, he purchased 640 acres (2.6 km²) to the east of his first house on land overlooking the Brisbane River. There he constructed a two-room brick cottage over a sandstone basement. The house was shingled and had a detached kitchen. This cottage now forms the core of the heritage-listed Wolston House.^[5]

Simpson had designated his nephew, John Ommaney (for whom Mount Ommaney is named) as his heir. On 11 March 1856 the young man was riding from Wolston station and was thrown from his horse. The horse returned to Wolston and a search was undertaken. Ommaney was found on the ground insensible and, despite medical attention, died. His body was taken by steamer to be buried in the Church of England cemetery at Paddington.^[6][7][8] This may have affected Simpson's commitment to remaining in the colony and a few years later, he put the Wolston estate up for sale and returned to England. According to the auction notice which appeared in the Moreton Bay Courier of 3 January 1860 the estate was by then well established with 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) of fenced land, an extensive garden and orchards and 250 head of horses and 400 of cattle.^[5]

Later life

Although appointed on 23 May 1860 as a life member of the Queensland Legislative Council, Simpson attended only once before he travelled to England. He was granted a leave of absence from the Council until September 1864. However, Simpson never returned to Queensland and resigned from the Council on 3 February 1865.^[1][9][10]

Simpson died on Thursday 11 March 1869 at 28 Bryanston Street, Portman Square, Marylebone, London.^[1][11]

References

1. "Simpson, Dr Stephen". Re-Member Database. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
2. Unidentified, Stephen Simpson, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, retrieved 27 December 2014
3. "Wacol". Richlands Inala History Group. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
4. Kerkhove, Ray (19 August 2017). "Battle of One Tree Hill and Its Aftermath". Retrieved 5 August 2020. Note: Dr Ray Kerkhove, owner of this site, is a reputable historian. See here and here.
5. "Wolston House (entry 600339)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
6. Queensland Index of Deaths, 1856/B9 John Ommanney
7. "MOUNT OMMANEY". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 1 April 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
8. "STEAM POSTAL COMMUNICATION". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 March 1856. p. 2. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
9. (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald & General Advertiser. National Library of Australia. 4 May 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
11. "DEATH OF DR. SIMPSON". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 22 May 1869. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

Attribution

  This Wikipedia article incorporates text from "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, on 8 October 2014).

Further reading

• Cilento, Raphael (23 September 1965). "The Life and Residences of the Hon. Stephen Simpson, M.D., J.P., M.L.C. of Warwickshire, Woogaroo and Wolston (Presidential Address)" (PDF).
• Wallis, Noel William (2009), Dr Stephen Simpson (1792-1869) M.D., J.P., M.L.C. : Woogaroo Station (1843-1852), Noel Wallis

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stephen Simpson.

• Iltis, Judith. "Simpson, Stephen (1793–1869)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538.
• Description of Simpson's exploration of the Wide Bay district in 1843 by Frank Cumbrae-Stewart drawing on Simpson's "Journal of an excursion to the Bunya country"
  • Part 1: "THE WIDE BAY RIVER". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 1 March 1924. p. 18.
  • Part 2: "THE WIDE BAY RIVER". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 8 March 1924. p. 19.
  • Part 3: "THE WIDE BAY RIVER". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 15 March 1924. p. 19.
• Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877, State Library of Queensland- includes digitised letters and reports written by Simpson to the New South Wales Colonial Secretary