Horace Tozer

Sir Horace Tozer
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Wide Bay
In office
13 July 1871 – 23 September 1871
Preceded byHenry King
Succeeded byHenry King
In office
17 May 1888 – 2 March 1898
Preceded byWilliam Bailey
Succeeded byCharles Jenkinson
Personal details
BornHorace Tozer
(1844-04-23)23 April 1844
Died20 August 1916(1916-08-20) (aged 72)
Resting placeToowong Cemetery
PartyMinisterial
Spouse(s)Mary Hoyles Wilson (m.1868 d.1878), Louisa Lord (m.1880 d.1908)
RelationsVivian Tozer (son)
OccupationSolicitor

Sir Horace Tozer KCMG (23 April 1844 – 20 August 1916)[1] was an Australian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Tozer was son of H. T. N. Tozer. He was born in April 1844 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales and attended the Collegiate School in Newcastle. He then became a solicitor in Brisbane and started a successful legal practice in Gympie. He married twice, in 1868 at Ipswich to Mary Hoyles Wilson[2] (who died in Ipswich in 1878),[3] and in 1880 to Louisa Lord (who died in London in 1908).[4]

Political life

In the 1871 election held on 13 July, the sitting member for Wide Bay in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, Henry Edward King, decided to contest the electoral district of Maryborough instead of Wide Bay. King supported the nomination of Horace Tozer for Wide Bay, amidst allegations that Tozer was just a "warming pan" intended to hold the seat as a protection against King failing to win Maryborough.[5] Tozer was elected in Wide Bay[6] but King's bid for Maryborough failed. The allegations of Tozer being a "warming pan" proved true as Tozer promptly resigned, recommending that the electors of Wide Bay should elect King at the subsequent by-election.[7] King's nomination was unopposed and he was declared elected on 4 October 1871.[8][9]

In 1880, Tozer was elected was an alderman in Gympie's first town council.

On 17 May 1888 he was elected again as the member for Wide Bay. He was colonial secretary between 1890 and 1893, and then became home secretary until 1898.[6]

On 2 March 1898, he resigned his seat in order to be appointed as Agent-General for Queensland.[10] He retired due to his health in 1909.

Later years and death

He died at the home of his daughter, Amy Lavinia Norton in South Brisbane on 20 August 1916.[11] He was survived by two sons and two daughters. A private funeral was held and he was buried in Toowong Cemetery.[11][12]

His son Vivian Tozer also served in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing Gympie.[13]

Tozer's legal offices in Gympie (Tozer's Building) is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[14]

References

  1. ^ Tozer, Sir Horace (1844–1916) Australian Dictionary of Biography
  2. ^ "Family Notices". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 14 February 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Family Notices". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 19 January 1878. p. 4. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  4. ^ "DEATH OF LADY TOZER". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 26 March 1908. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. ^ "MARYBOROUGH". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 8 July 1871. p. 2. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Part 2.15 – Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2017 and the Legislative Council 1860–1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. ^ "POLITICS AT GYMPIE". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 5 August 1871. p. 9. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  8. ^ "GYMPIE". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 7 October 1871. p. 2. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  9. ^ "QUEENSLAND". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 9 November 1871. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  10. ^ "SIR HORACE TOZER". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 11 February 1898. p. 6. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Family Notices". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 21 August 1916. p. 6. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  12. ^ Tozer Sir Horace Archived 8 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Tozer, Vivian Hoyles". www.parliament.qld.gov.au. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Tozer's Building (entry 602779)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.