Frederick Neville Isaac (1825 – 12 July 1865) was a Queensland pioneer pastoralist and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.[1]

Frederick Isaac
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
25 August 1864 – 12 July 1865
Personal details
Born
Frederick Neville Isaac

1825
Worcester, England
Died1865 (aged 39–40)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityEnglish Australian
Spouse(s)Caroline Sophia Sparkes (m.1854)
OccupationPastoralist, explorer, magistrate

Queensland pioneer edit

Frederick Isaac arrived in Queensland in 1840. Together with his brother, he accompanied the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt on his first expedition, on which Isaac proved himself an excellent bushman.[2]

After that expedition, Frederick Isaac then returned to Gowrie, and went from there with stock to take up land. In 1847, Isaac and his men settled at a place called Dullacca (later the property of William Miles, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly), but he was very soon driven from that land by the aborigines. He managed to save some of his stock but was forced to leave behind all his stores and his dray.[2]

In 1852 he entered a partnership with his brother as owners of Gowrie Station.[2]

In 1854, he returned to England, where he married Caroline Sparkes, of St Johns, Bridgenorth, in Shropshire.[2]

On returning to Queensland, he undertook roles such as territorial magistrate and returning officer for elections.[2]

Politics edit

Isaac was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council on 25 August 1864 and served until his death on 12 July 1865.[1]

Later life edit

Frederick Isaac died on 12 July 1865. He was buried in the Paddington Cemetery.[3] His widow remarried in 1866, to John Watts MLA, Queensland Secretary for Public Works, and returned with him to England in 1867.[4]

Legacy edit

Leichhardt named the Isaac River after him.[5] In turn, the river gives its name to the local government area of Isaac Region.[6]

Letters from Leichhardt to Isaac are held in the State Library of New South Wales.[7][8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "The Late Frederick Neville Isaac". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 18 July 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Paddington Cemetery Records of the Pioneers of Brisbane". Brisbane History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  4. ^ Sylvanus Urban (1866). "Marriages". The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review. London: Bradbury Evans & Co. p. 823. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Isaac River (entry 16856)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  6. ^ "Isaac Regional Council". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  7. ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig, 1813–1848 (1844), Item 12: Autograph letter signed from Ludwig Leichhardt to Frederick Isaac, 3 June 1844, retrieved 5 April 2015{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Leichhardt, Ludwig, 1813–1848 (1847), Item 14: Autograph letter signed from Ludwig Leichhardt to Frederick Isaac, 10 October 1847, retrieved 5 April 2015{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)