John Ferguson (1830-1906) Andrew Fisher (1862-1928)

Senator for 1901-1903 Member for Wide Bay (Queensland) 1901-1915

orn at Kenmore, in Perthshire, Scotland, In 1901 Ferguson was elected as a Freetrader orn in Crosshouse, , Scotland, Government, and in 1907, the leader of the BJohn Ferguson migrated to New South to represent Queensland in the Senate at the BAndrew Fisher was a union representative Labor Party. Fisher was Prime Minister and Wales in 1855. A carpenter by trade, Ferguson first federal election. He was absent overseas in the local coalmines while still in his teens. Treasurer 1908-09, 1910-13 and 1914-15. spent time on the New South Wales and during the lead-up to the election and did not In 1855 he migrated to Queensland and he Prime Minister when broke out, Victorian goldfields before moving to return to Australia until after the poll. worked in mines at Burrum and , it was Fisher’s responsibility to despatch Rockhampton where he became wealthy Ferguson attended only 95 of the 232 sitting where he became a leader of the union and Australian troops overseas and to provide through his shares in the Mount Morgan days from 9 May 1901 to 13 October 1903. labour movement. He was elected to the the foundations for financing Australia’s war mine. He was a member of the Rockhampton On the latter date his seat was declared Queensland Legislative Assembly for the effort. Ill health and diminishing party support Municipal Council 1878-90, and was Mayor vacant owing to his absence without leave Labor Party in 1893, lost his seat in 1896, led to his resignation in October 1915. of Rockhampton 1880-81 and 1882-83. for two consecutive months. He is the only but regained it in 1899. He was a minister He was a member of the Queensland senator to have lost his seat in this fashion. in Anderson Dawson’s short-lived Labor Fisher became the Australian High Legislative Assembly 1881-88 and Legislative Government in December 1899. Fisher was Commissioner in in 1915 and as such Council 1894-1906. Ferguson continued to hold his Queensland an active supporter of federation. was a member of the Dardanelles Legislative Council seat while serving in the Commission, visiting Australian troops in Commonwealth Parliament. In 1901 Fisher was elected as the Labor . He returned to Australia in 1921, member for Wide Bay in the House of when pressure was put on him to lead the Representatives at the first federal election. Labor Party again, but in the following year In 1904 he became the Minister for Trade and returned to England where he died in 1928. Customs in the first Federal Labor

The state of Queensland was also represented in the first Senate by: The electorate of Wide Bay was named after its locality. The Wide Bay district takes its name William Guy Higgs Andrew Dawson James George Drake from the bay named by Captain Cook on May 18, 1770.

James Charles Stewart Thomas Glassey