Ted Hanson

The Hon Edward Hanson
Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
In office 8 August 1939 – 31 July 1944
Preceded by	George Pollock
Succeeded by	Samuel Brassington
Constituency	Buranda
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Buranda
In office 16 August 1924 – 3 May 1947
Preceded by	John Huxham
Succeeded by	Richard Brown
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 19 February 1920 – 23 March 1922
Personal details
Born	Edward Joseph Hanson 5 September 1878 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died	26 October 1950 (aged 72) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth McKay (m.1903 d.1969)
Occupation	Plumber, Trade union secretary
Religion	Baptist

Edward (Ted) Joseph Hanson (5 September 1878 – 26 October 1950)^[1] was a plumber, union organiser and politician in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council and the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Early life

Edward Joseph Hanson was born in Woolloongabba, Brisbane on 5 September 1878, the son of John Hanson and his wife Mary Ann (nee Castree).^[2][3]

He served in the Second Boer War 1899–1901.^[4]

On 19 August, Edward, known as Ted, was married to Elizabeth McKay; they had eight children. He was also a founding member of the PGEUA (Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union of Australia) Qld branch in 1904. He was later its first full-time Secretary/Organiser (1915-1924). From 1916 to 1922 he was a member of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board.^[2]

Politics

Hanson was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1920 to 1922.^[5] After the abolition of the Council, he represented the Queensland state electorate of Buranda from 1924 to 1947, and was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 8 August 1939 until 31 July 1944.^[6] He was the first Speaker of the QLD Parliament to not wear a wig. His daughter Norma, related to her daughter, Caroline Mann-Smith, that Ted said that "I am not wearing a sheep skin on my head". (Norma was aged 19 in 1939). No doubt his reasons were not only this - they were likely to do with disagreement with what he saw as old and unnecessary traditions. (written by Caroline Mann-Smith, as quoted earlier) He was a supporter of the Buranda State Schools Committee and the President of the Committee. He was a supporter of the Kent Street Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution and the Chairman of its Committee.^[7]

Later life

Hanson died on 26 October 1950. He was accorded a State funeral. His funeral cortege was led by the Queensland Mounted Police and was more than a mile long. It travelled along Victoria Bridge, Queen Street and Story Bridge and then to Mount Thompson Crematorium where he was cremated.^[2][8]

See also

• Members of the Queensland Legislative Council, 1917–1922
• Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1923–1926; 1926–1929; 1929–1932; 1932–1935; 1935–1938; 1938–1941; 1941–1944; 1944–1947

References

1. "Private Edward Hanson". Boer War Memorial. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
2. "Death Of Ex-Speaker Mr. E.J.Hanson". Worker. 1950-10-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
3. "1878/B23949 Edward Joseph Hanson". Queensland births. Queensland Government. Retrieved 17 September 2015. horizontal tab character in |title= at position 12 (help)
4. "Second Queensland Contingent". The Queenslander. 20 January 1900. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
5. "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
6. "Governors, Premiers, Speakers, and Women in the Queensland Parliament" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
7. "BLIND AND DEAF SCHOOL.". The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) (Qld.: National Library of Australia). 8 December 1931. p. 17. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
8. "Family Notices.". The Courier-Mail (Brisbane: National Library of Australia). 27 October 1950. p. 16. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

• Letters to Ted and family sources
• Various letters in the Queensland State Archives written by Ted Hanson in those positions

^[1]

1. Biographical Encyclopedia of the World, Third Edition, 1946