Robert Philp

Infobox Officeholder
honorific-prefix = Sir
name = Robert Philp
honorific-suffix = KCMG

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order = 15th
office = Premier of Queensland
term_start = 17 December 1899
term_end = 17 September 1903
deputy =
predecessor = Anderson Dawson
successor = Arthur Morgan
constituency =
majority =
term_start2 = 19 November 1907
term_end2 = 18 February 1908
predecessor2 = William Kidston
successor2 = William Kidston
constituency2 = Townsville
majority2 =
birth_date = birth date|1851|12|28
birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland, UK
death_date = death date and age|1922|7|17|1851|12|28
death_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
nationality =
party =
spouse = Jessie Bannister
relations =
children =
residence =
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Sir Robert Philp, KCMG (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.

Early life

Philp was born in Scotland, in 1851, the son of a Fife cotton mill owner, and emigrated to Brisbane with his parents and siblings in 1862. He worked for a merchant shipping company from the time he left school at the age of twelve until 1874, when he moved to Townsville to take up the position of junior partner in the trading company Burns Philp and Company.

The successful firm acted as agents and provisioners for the sugar cane and pastoral industries that sustained Northern Queensland, importing South Pacific Islanders (known as Kanakas) to work as indentured labourers on the canefields, as well as conducting extensive trade activities throughout Queensland and New Guinea. He also became an active and high-ranking Freemason.

When the business-friendly McIlwraith government lost office in 1883 it was succeeded by the Liberal government of Samuel Griffith that sought to end the trade in Kanakas. As a prominent businessman who had served several times on the local council Philp was active in bankrolling and supporting candidates in opposition to Griffith. He supported the growing movement for the separation of North Queensland from the rest of the colony.

Early parliamentary career

Philp entered the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1886 as Member for Musgrave. He supported the North Queensland separatists in their unsuccessful attempts to gain independence, but spent most of his early parliamentary career preoccupied with his business affairs. His seat of Musgrave was abolished and in 1888 he was successfully returned as one of the two members for the electorate of Townsville. His parliamentary activity was mainly in support of North Queensland and his business interests - extending railway links to North Queensland, and the abolition of import tariffs. When the import of Pacific islanders was temporarily halted in 1892 Philp was instrumental in securing its resumption.

Premier and opposition leader

Philp was a prolific speculator and in 1893 he was forced by debt to resign from the board of directors of Burns, Philp. In May of the same year McIlwraith, now governing in coalition with Griffith in what was known as the "Continuous Ministry", appointed Philp as Minister for Mines. He held several other ministerial posts, such as Railways, Public Works and Treasurer until 1899. when the Continuous Ministry was briefly unseated by the Labor government of Anderson Dawson. During this period the colony's economy went into slump and the government fell into significant debt. Philp codified mining regulations and encouraged the private development of railways throughout the colony. The railway construction process was alleged to be corrupt by the Labor members, and after narrowly winning a vote of confidence in November 1899 James Dickson resigned as Premier. Dawson's government lasted a week before losing Parliamentary support and Philp, despite his protestations in support of Dickson, was chosen as Premier by his colleagues.

The Australian colonies federated in 1901 and the new Prime Minister Edmund Barton immediately ended the trade in Kanakas. By this stage Queensland was severely depleted in revenue, and Federation exacerbated this situation by depriving Queensland of excise and customs funds. Despite a severe drought and the dire state of the state's finances, Philp was re-elected in 1902. Discontent brewed among Ministerialists who were bitter at missing out on Cabinet positions, and in August 1903 Digby Denham crossed the floor with supporters to bring down the government and form a coalition led by Arthur Morgan.

Philp, with his genial nature, was ill-suited to the position of Opposition Leader, and showed little enthusiasm in attacking the new government. Morgan briefly lost control of the Legislative Assembly in 1904 and Philp was called upon by Governor Sir Herbert Chermside to form a ministry, but could not secure sufficient support from among his colleagues. The end result was a dissolution of Parliament and a solid defeat of the Opposition. Philp resumed his position as Leader and his concilatory treatment of the government continued when fellow Scot William Kidston became Premier. Philp cultivated good relations with Kidston and helped foster the increasing gap between Kidston and the Labor movement.

Philp's party was again unsuccessful in the elections of 1907. Kidston was encountering difficulties in securing the passage of his legislation through the intransigent Legislative Council and after Lord Chelmsford as Governor refused Kidston's request to appoint sufficient new councillors so as to give Kidston a majority, he resigned in November. Lord Chelmsford commissioned Philp as Premier, but, unable to entice any of Kidston's supporters to his cause, he remained without a majority in the Legislative Assembly, which promptly blocked supply. Over Kidston's protests, Lord Chelmsford guaranteed supply through the issuing of writs and then dissolved the Assembly, but Philp failed to win the subsequent election.

In 1908 Kidston, alienated from the Labor party, relied on Philp's support to pass legislation approving construction of private railways. By October the two leaders had sufficient in common that they negotiated a merger of their two parties, ending Philp's career as Opposition Leader.

ubsequent career

Philp remained in parliament, and also returned to tending his business interests. He enjoyed the status that his long parliamentary career gave him and participated in the foundation of the University of Queensland in 1912. He was unseated by the Labor landslide of 1915 but remained active in politics, campaigning for the conscription referendums of the First World War and leading the resistance to the abolition of the Legislative Council in 1921. He worked to undermine the Labor government of Ted Theodore by travelling to London to thwart Theodore's attempts at gaining loans from London financiers to fund government expenditure. On 17 June 1922 he died.

Further reading

*Bolton, G C. Robert Philp: Capitalist as Politician. In Murphy D, Joyce R, Cribb M, and Wear, R (Ed.), "The Premiers of Queensland" pp. 1-29. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3173-8.