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| politics_the_post_office [2023/11/09 12:15] – [Legislative Council] judith | politics_the_post_office [2025/03/16 21:40] (current) – judith |
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| TLM-P was offered the position when he was 'in utter ignorance' about running a postal service, so he first took leave to go to Sydney to learn about his new role, leaving on the 16 August and returning on the 6 October.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.8n)) When the news leaked out, Brisbane's newspaper //The Courier// grudgingly approved: 'Whatever may be Mr. Prior's business talents, he certainly possesses valuable qualifications in his untiring energy and his indomitable perseverance, and in these respects he will afford a striking contrast to the gentlemen who usually find their way to the heads of government departments.'((//The Courier//, 31 August 1861, p.2)) The Queensland correspondent for the //Sydney Morning Herald// was even more dubious: 'Mr. Prior is, or was, a squatter, but has, I believe, recently devoted himself to agricultural pursuits as well. In as far as personal activity is concerned he may be considered not unsuited to the office, but it may be doubted if his other qualifications be fully up to the mark, especially as he must necessarily be without experience in his new vocation. However, I must guard against the injustice of condemning him untried.'((//Sydney Morning Herald//, 16 September 1861, p.5.))\\ | TLM-P was offered the position when he was 'in utter ignorance' about running a postal service, so he first took leave to go to Sydney to learn about his new role, leaving on the 16 August and returning on the 6 October.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.8n)) When the news leaked out, Brisbane's newspaper //The Courier// grudgingly approved: 'Whatever may be Mr. Prior's business talents, he certainly possesses valuable qualifications in his untiring energy and his indomitable perseverance, and in these respects he will afford a striking contrast to the gentlemen who usually find their way to the heads of government departments.'((//The Courier//, 31 August 1861, p.2)) The Queensland correspondent for the //Sydney Morning Herald// was even more dubious: 'Mr. Prior is, or was, a squatter, but has, I believe, recently devoted himself to agricultural pursuits as well. In as far as personal activity is concerned he may be considered not unsuited to the office, but it may be doubted if his other qualifications be fully up to the mark, especially as he must necessarily be without experience in his new vocation. However, I must guard against the injustice of condemning him untried.'((//Sydney Morning Herald//, 16 September 1861, p.5.))\\ |
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| In Sydney TLM-P was instructed in his new duties by the NSW Postmaster-General Major [William] Christie(({{http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/christie-william-harvie-3206}})) and the Secretary of the Department, Thomas Abbott. On his return he was appointed Postal Inspector (on 6 November 1861) and, on 1 January 1862, also Postmaster-General.((//Australia's Representative Men//, [ed. T.W.H. Leavitt],Improved Edition, Melbourne: Wells and Leavitt, c.1889, entry for T.L. Murray-Prior. The book used is the one TLM-P owned, signed by him and dated 14th June 1889. It is likely that TLM-P provided the information. Note that the entry states he was instructed in Sydney for two weeks: a hand-written correction changes that to two months.]])) The General Post Office staff at the time TLM-P was first appointed consisted of just 13 other employees including a postmistress; accountant/secretary/cashier; inland clerk; foreign dispatch clerk; one 3rd class clerk; one sorter; 4 letter carriers; one messenger and one sorter. The whole colony had just 24 post offices. Services such as money orders and telegraphs had yet to be offered.((Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden)) It was a lucrative appointment; Darbyshire points out that TLM-P's salary was £600, the same as, for example, the Private Secretary/Aide de Camp to the Governor. Women's salaries were less than men's so the GPO Postmistress Elise Barney received £475 (in salary and allowance) a year.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.10n))\\ | In Sydney TLM-P was instructed in his new duties by the NSW Postmaster-General Major [William] Christie(({{http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/christie-william-harvie-3206}})) and the Secretary of the Department, Thomas Abbott. On his return he was appointed Postal Inspector (on 6 November 1861) and, on 1 January 1862, also Postmaster-General.((//Australia's Representative Men//, [ed. T.W.H. Leavitt],Improved Edition, Melbourne: Wells and Leavitt, c.1889, entry for T.L. Murray-Prior. The book used is the one TLM-P owned, signed by him and dated 14th June 1889. It is likely that TLM-P provided the information. Note that the entry states he was instructed in Sydney for two weeks: a hand-written correction changes that to two months.]])) The General Post Office staff at the time TLM-P was first appointed consisted of just 13 other employees including a postmistress; accountant/secretary/cashier; inland clerk; foreign dispatch clerk; one 3rd class clerk; one sorter; 4 letter carriers; one messenger and one sorter. The whole colony had just 24 post offices. Services such as money orders and telegraphs had yet to be offered.((Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden)) It was a lucrative appointment; Darbyshire points out that TLM-P's salary was £600, the same as, for example, the Private Secretary/Aide de Camp to the Governor. Women's salaries were less than men's so the GPO Postmistress Elise Barney received £475 (in salary and allowance) a year.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.10n)) It was also a powerful position in that it was the Postmaster-General who decided on new mail routes.\\ |
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| Documents from his time were once located at the Brisbane General Post Office Museum: this museum was closed in 2005 and the documents' whereabouts are not known.((https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5090123&S=1&T=P&R=0; https://www.redlandmuseum.org.au/our-displays/post-office/))\\ | Documents from his time were once located at the Brisbane General Post Office Museum: this museum was closed in 2005 and the documents' whereabouts are not known.((https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5090123&S=1&T=P&R=0; https://www.redlandmuseum.org.au/our-displays/post-office/))\\ |
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| It would take a specialised historian to properly assess TLM-P's success as Postmaster-General. We do know that during 1862-74, when TLM-P was predominantly the Postmaster-General, the service underwent a major expansion. For example: in 1862 the money order system was introduced,((Malcolm Rea, 'Communications across the generations: An Australian Post Office History of Queensland', //The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. Year Book of Proceedings//, IX:2, 1970-71, pp.168-226 (p190).)) and from 1865, saving bank deposits could be made at Queensland post offices. The increase in staff is another indication of growth: in 1865, TLM-P had a postal staff of 28; by 1872 the staff totalled 50.((//Centenary of the Brisbane General Post Office, 1872-1972//, Postmaster-General's Department, Brisbane, 1972, pp.8,11.)) TLM-P was responsible for the much-needed new [[wp>General_Post_Office,_Brisbane|General Post Office]]((//Centenary of the Brisbane General Post Office, 1872-1972//, Postmaster-General's Department, Brisbane, 1972, pp.7-8; Richard Breckon, An Australian Post Office History, c1972, p.40)) which opened in Brisbane in 1872. The number of post offices increased from 23 in 1862 to 139 ten years later.((A Report on the Post Office in Queensland, A Sunday Truth Special Feature, 2 May 1965, p.25.)) In the 1860s, TLM-P opened up new routes serviced by Cobb and Co coaches.((Malcolm Rea, 'Communications across the generations: An Australian Post Office History of Queensland', //The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. Year Book of Proceedings//, IX:2, 1970-71, pp.168-226 (p183).)) \\ | It would take a specialised historian to properly assess TLM-P's success as Postmaster-General. It is possible that some assessment is made in Allan A. Morrison, //Some Queensland postmasters-general//, Brisbane:Post Office Historical Society, 1953. We do know that during 1862-74, when TLM-P was predominantly the Postmaster-General, the service underwent a major expansion. For example: in 1862 the money order system was introduced,((Malcolm Rea, 'Communications across the generations: An Australian Post Office History of Queensland', //The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. Year Book of Proceedings//, IX:2, 1970-71, pp.168-226 (p190).)) and from 1865, saving bank deposits could be made at Queensland post offices. The increase in staff is another indication of growth: in 1865, TLM-P had a postal staff of 28; by 1872 the staff totalled 50.((//Centenary of the Brisbane General Post Office, 1872-1972//, Postmaster-General's Department, Brisbane, 1972, pp.8,11.)) TLM-P was responsible for the much-needed new [[wp>General_Post_Office,_Brisbane|General Post Office]]((//Centenary of the Brisbane General Post Office, 1872-1972//, Postmaster-General's Department, Brisbane, 1972, pp.7-8; Richard Breckon, An Australian Post Office History, c1972, p.40)) which opened in Brisbane in 1872. The number of post offices increased from 23 in 1862 to 139 ten years later.((A Report on the Post Office in Queensland, A Sunday Truth Special Feature, 2 May 1965, p.25.)) In the 1860s, TLM-P opened up new routes serviced by Cobb and Co coaches.((Malcolm Rea, 'Communications across the generations: An Australian Post Office History of Queensland', //The Royal Historical Society of Queensland. Year Book of Proceedings//, IX:2, 1970-71, pp.168-226 (p183).)) \\ |
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| In the 1870s, travelling post offices were opened on trains, the post and telegraph departments were amalgamated, and telegraphic communication was extended to remote areas, such as Cape York and the Gulf country.((//The Australian Encyclopaedia//, vol. VII, Sydney: The Grolier Society, 1963, p.241.)) Much of the expansion was the result of the rapid growth of the white population - in 1861 to 1864 alone, Queensland's population (largely excluding Aboriginal people) doubled from just over 30,059 to 61,467.((//Australian Historical Statistics//, ed. Wray Vamplew, Sydney: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, 1987, p.26)) How much TLM-P facilitated the expansion of postal services to meet the increasing demand is not known. However, as a representative of the squatters' faction, it was in his own strong interest to maintain efficient and widespread postal services. And he certainly was active: his 1863 diary indicates that, in under two months, he rode 1,017 miles (1,636 km) as well as travelling by coastal steamer in a tour of inspection of the postal service.\\ | In the 1870s, travelling post offices were opened on trains, the post and telegraph departments were amalgamated, and telegraphic communication was extended to remote areas, such as Cape York and the Gulf country.((//The Australian Encyclopaedia//, vol. VII, Sydney: The Grolier Society, 1963, p.241.)) Much of the expansion was the result of the rapid growth of the white population - in 1861 to 1864 alone, Queensland's population (largely excluding Aboriginal people) doubled from just over 30,059 to 61,467.((//Australian Historical Statistics//, ed. Wray Vamplew, Sydney: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, 1987, p.26)) How much TLM-P facilitated the expansion of postal services to meet the increasing demand is not known. However, as a representative of the squatters' faction, it was in his own strong interest to maintain efficient and widespread postal services. And he certainly was active: his 1863 diary indicates that, in under two months, he rode 1,017 miles (1,636 km) as well as travelling by coastal steamer in a tour of inspection of the postal service.\\ |
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| | The elegant proposed design of the GPO Brisbane:{{:proposed_gpo_brisbane_scan_20241019_2_contrast_.jpg?400|}}((Provenance F. & E. Cullen-Ward)) |
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| An admiring view of his achievements as Postmaster-General comes from his entry in //Australia's Representative Men//. It states he 'may be said to be the first to have initiated the through mail service' (presumably to the UK), and the confidence of the authorities in his abilities was seen in his selection to negotiate with [[wp>Batavia,_Dutch_East_Indies|Batavia (now Jakarta)]] regarding the postal service (though he was unable to travel there himself). It described TLM-P up as a 'safe representative of the people' due to his 'unswerving integrity and disinterested loyalty'.((//Australia's Representative Men//, ed. T.W.H. Leavitt,Improved Edition, Melbourne: Wells and Leavitt, c.1889, entry for T.L. Murray-Prior. TLM-P owned a copy, signed by him and dated 14th June 1889. (Provenance: J. Godden). It is likely that TLM-P provided the information.))\\ | An admiring view of his achievements as Postmaster-General comes from his entry in //Australia's Representative Men//. It states he 'may be said to be the first to have initiated the through mail service' (presumably to the UK), and the confidence of the authorities in his abilities was seen in his selection to negotiate with [[wp>Batavia,_Dutch_East_Indies|Batavia (now Jakarta)]] regarding the postal service (though he was unable to travel there himself). It described TLM-P up as a 'safe representative of the people' due to his 'unswerving integrity and disinterested loyalty'.((//Australia's Representative Men//, ed. T.W.H. Leavitt,Improved Edition, Melbourne: Wells and Leavitt, c.1889, entry for T.L. Murray-Prior. TLM-P owned a copy, signed by him and dated 14th June 1889. (Provenance: J. Godden). It is likely that TLM-P provided the information.))\\ |
| TLM-P (bottom left) with subsequent Postmasters-General of Queensland.(([[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5090123&S=1&T=P&R=0]])) {{:postermasters_general_enhanced.jpg?300|}}\\ | TLM-P (bottom left) with subsequent Postmasters-General of Queensland.(([[https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=5090123&S=1&T=P&R=0]])) {{:postermasters_general_enhanced.jpg?300|}}\\ |
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| {{:telegraph_staff_1870s.jpg?400|}}TLM-P has written on the back that this photo is of the 'Telegraph Department, officials Chief Office[ers?] Brisbane 1870 [? the last digit is unclear].((Provenance: J. Godden))\\ | {{:telegraph_staff_1870s.jpg?400|}}TLM-P has written on the back that this photo is of the 'Telegraph Department, officials Chief Office[ers?] Brisbane 1870[? or 1875? the last digit is unclear].((Courtesy F. & E. Cullen-Ward))\\ |
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| Following Tom A. M-P's initiative, this plaque on the Brisbane GPO has recently been restored.{{:gpo_plaque.jpg?500|}} \\ | Following Tom A. M-P's initiative, this plaque on the Brisbane GPO has recently been restored.{{:gpo_plaque.jpg?500|}} \\ |
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