Thomas Proe

Thomas Proe
Thomas Proe in his mayoral robes – 1905
30th Mayor of Brisbane
In office
1901–1901
Preceded byJames Robinson
Succeeded byLeslie Corrie
In office
1905–1905
Preceded byThomas Rees
Succeeded byJohn Crase
Personal details
Born
Thomas Proe

1852
Wigan, Lancashire, England
Died17 December 1922 (aged 69 or 70)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeToowong Cemetery
NationalityEnglish Australian
SpouseMary Strasburg (m.1881 d.1924)
OccupationEngineer, Publican

Thomas Proe (1852–1922) was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Personal life

Thomas Proe was born in 1852 at Wigan, Lancashire, England, the son of Thomas Proe and Jane Beckman.[1][2]

He came to Queensland in 1876 and married Mary Strasburg (daughter of Frederick Strasburg and Frederica Mundt) in Brisbane in 1881. They had seven children:[1][2][3]

  • Frederick Thomas (born 1882, died 1886)[2]
  • Ethel Mary (born 1884, died 1888)[2]
  • Martha Jane Jubilee (born 1887, married John McClew MacGibbon in 1928)[2]
  • Bertha (born 1889, married Hector Marwick in 1915)[2]
  • Eveline Mary (born 1893)[2]
  • Victor Thomas (born 1897, married Mabel Annie Sinnamon in 1921)[2]
  • Cara May Gladys (born 1901, married Lancelot Walter Trout in 1925)[2]

Proe died on 17 December 1922 at his residence "Wyralla", Mark street, New Farm, aged 71 years. He is buried in Toowong Cemetery. His wife died in 1924 and is buried with him.[1][2][3][4]

Business life

Thomas Proe trained as an engineer in England, but in Brisbane he became a publican. He owned the Osborne Hotel and later Royal George Hotel, Ann Street, Fortitude Valley.[1][3][5]

Public life

Thomas Proe was served as an alderman of the Brisbane Municipal Council from 1895 to 1905. He was mayor of the Brisbane Municipal Council in 1901 and again in 1905 as mayor of the Brisbane City Council (Brisbane having become a city in 1903). His service to the council, included[1][3][5]

  • Finance Committee 1895, 1899, 1902, 1904
  • Legislative Committee 1895, 1899, 1902, 1903
  • Works Committee 1896, 1900–1903, 1905
  • Parks Committee 1896, 1900–1901
  • Health Committee 1900–1901
  • Special (Ferries) Committee 1900–1901
  • Building Act Committee 1901
  • Special Sewerage Committee 1905
  • Member of Board of Waterworks 1905

During his term as mayor, Brisbane was in 1901 visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary). In recognition of his work for that occasion, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) 15 May 1901.[6]

Thomas Proe was president for some years of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, a member of the Brisbane Metropolitan Water Board,[1] and a member of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers.[5]

He was also a member of the Masons.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Obituary, Brisbane Courier, Wednesday 20 December 1922, p. 15
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Queensland Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages
  3. ^ a b c d "Brisbane Mayors", Friends of Toowong Cemetery Association Inc
  4. ^ Proe, Thomas & Proe, Mary Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
  5. ^ a b c d Brisbane City Council Archives
  6. ^ "No. 27314". The London Gazette. 17 May 1901. p. 3379.