# Richard Ash Kingsford

Richard Ash Kingsford (2 OCT 1821 – 2 JAN 1902); born in Canterbury, Kent, England; married Sarah Southerden and Emma Jane Dexter; parent of 2 children; died in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

**Lifespan:** 2 OCT 1821 – 2 JAN 1902

## Spouses
- [Sarah Southerden](/p/sarah-southerden-57480.md) — m. 2 OCT 1851
- [Emma Jane Dexter](/p/emma-jane-dexter-57481.md) — m. 31 AUG 1892

## Children
- [Catherine Mary Kingsford](/p/catherine-mary-kingsford-49445.md)
- [Emily Jane Kingsford](/p/emily-jane-kingsford-57486.md)

## Timeline
- 2 OCT 1821 — **Born** at Canterbury, Kent, England
- 1852 — **Immigrated** at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia — Emigrated from England with his wife Sarah, arriving at Sydney in 1852; the couple moved on to Brisbane in 1854.
- 1854 — **Occupation (Draper)** at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia — Partner from 1854 in a drapery business in Queen Street, Brisbane, with his brother John. Wikipedia places the partnership in the 1860s.
- FROM 1875 TO 1876 — **Alderman, Brisbane Municipal Council** at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia — Alderman of the Brisbane Municipal Council from 1875 to 1876, sitting on the Finance Committee in 1875 and the Improvement Committee in 1876.
- FROM 26 MAY 1875 TO 21 AUG 1883 — **Member for South Brisbane, Queensland Legislative Assembly** at South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia — Sat in the Queensland Legislative Assembly for South Brisbane from 26 May 1875 to 21 August 1883. He won the seat, vacated by Thomas Blacket Stephens, by a large majority against the attorney-general Ratcliffe Pring, and lost it at the 1883 election as a supporter of Thomas McIlwraith. The register records no party affiliation for him.
- 1876 — **Mayor of Brisbane** at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia — Elected mayor in 1876 while serving as an alderman. The Australian Dictionary of Biography and Wikipedia give the office as mayor of Brisbane; the Queensland Parliament register records it as 'Mayor of South Brisbane, 1876'.
- ABT 1878 — **Occupation (Poultry farmer)** at Tingalpa, Queensland, Australia — Ran a poultry farm at the Springs, Tingalpa, east of Brisbane, from about 1878. The venture was unsuccessful and he left for Cairns.
- ABT 1883 — **Occupation (Fruit grower)** — From about 1883 grew fruit on land he selected near Kuranda, inland from Cairns, having bought property in the town itself. No place row exists for Kuranda, so the event carries no place.
- 1884 — **Chairman, Cairns Divisional Board** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia — Elected chairman of the Cairns Divisional Board in 1884, the year after moving north to Cairns.
- FROM 1885 TO 1886 — **Mayor of Cairns** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia — Cairns was proclaimed a municipality on 28 May 1885 and at the first meeting of its council on 22 July 1885 Kingsford was unanimously elected mayor by his fellow aldermen, making him the town's first mayor. He was re-elected for a further term.
- 1885 — **President, Cairns School of Arts** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia — Became president of the Cairns School of Arts in 1885. A keen reader, he was central to establishing the town's first library.
- 1888 — **Candidate for Cairns, Queensland Legislative Assembly** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia — Stood in 1888 for the new Legislative Assembly seat of Cairns, still an adherent of Thomas McIlwraith, and was defeated after a bitter and costly contest by Frederick Thomas Wimble, founder and editor of the Cairns Post, who stood as a follower of Samuel Griffith. He did not sit in parliament again.
- FROM 1890 TO 1897 — **Occupation (Sugar planter)** — Bought the Hambledon sugar plantation from Thomas Swallow in 1890 and leased it to Swallow's sons, trading as Swallow Bros; the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. acquired it in 1897. The Queensland Parliament register instead dates his sugar planting to 1882. No place row exists for Hambledon, so the event carries no place.
- 2 JAN 1902 — **Died** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia
- **Justice of the Peace** at Queensland, Australia — Senior justice of the peace for North Queensland, and for some years a member of the Licensing Board. Neither source gives dates.
- **Baptist lay preacher** at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia — A Baptist and a lay preacher, and one of the founders of the Wharf Street Baptist Church in Brisbane, now the Baptist City Tabernacle. Preaching while assisting his brother John made him a fluent public speaker, which served him in parliament.
- **Buried** at Cairns, Queensland, Australia — Buried in the old McLeod Street pioneer cemetery at Cairns.

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