Arthur Hodgson

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Australian politician

title: "Arthur Hodgson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1818-births", "1902-deaths", "people-educated-at-eton-college", "alumni-of-corpus-christi-college,-cambridge", "members-of-the-new-south-wales-legislative-assembly", "knights-commander-of-the-order-of-st-michael-and-st-george", "people-from-rickmansworth", "members-of-the-queensland-legislative-assembly", "19th-century-australian-politicians", "sheriffs-of-warwickshire", "squatting-in-australia", "19th-century-squatters"] description: "Australian politician" topic_path: "people/1810s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Hodgson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Sir Arthur Hodgson
honorific-suffix	****
image	Sir Arthur Hodgson - Queensland politician.jpg
constituency_AM1	Clarence and Darling Downs
assembly1	New South Wales Legislative
term_start1	29 January 1858
term_end1	11 April 1859
predecessor1	Clark Irving
successor1	Seat abolished
constituency_AM2	Newcastle
assembly2	New South Wales Legislative
term_start2	14 June 1859
term_end2	10 November 1860
predecessor2	New seat
successor2	James Hannell
constituency_AM3	Warrego
assembly3	Queensland Legislative
term_start3	18 September 1868
term_end3	23 November 1869
predecessor3	Graham Mylne
successor3	Thomas McIlwraith
birth_date
birth_place	Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England
death_date
death_place	Clopton House, near Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England
restingplace	Stratford-upon-Avon Cemetery
birthname	Arthur Hodgson
nationality	English Australian
spouse	Eliza Dowling (m.1842 d.1902)
occupation	Grazier, Squire
relations	Edward Hodgson (brother), Sir James Dowling (father-in-law)
alma_mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
::

|birth_date = |birth_place = Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England |death_date = |death_place = Clopton House, near Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England |restingplace = Stratford-upon-Avon Cemetery |birthname = Arthur Hodgson |nationality = English Australian |party = |otherparty = |spouse = Eliza Dowling (m.1842 d.1902) | occupation = Grazier, Squire | relations = Edward Hodgson (brother), Sir James Dowling (father-in-law) | alma_mater = Corpus Christi College, Cambridge NOTOC Sir Arthur Hodgson KCMG (29 June 1818 – 24 December 1902) was an Australian squatter and politician.

Early life

Hodgson was born in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England; the second son of the Rev. Edward Hodgson and his third wife Charlotte, daughter of Francis William Pemberton of Bombay, India. Hodgson was educated at Eton from 1828 to 1833 and then entered the Royal Navy and was a midshipman from 1833 to 1837 on HMS Canopus on the China station. In 1837–38 he studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Australia

In 1839 Hodgson moved to Australia, arriving in Sydney, and soon leased Cashiobury run in the New England district. In July 1840, he sought new land further north in the Moreton Bay district (as it was then known, now called Queensland) based on advice from Patrick Leslie. With a partner, Gilbert Eliott, and his brother, Christopher Pemberton Hodgson, Arthur Hodgson squatted Eton Vale, the second pastoral run on the Darling Downs in September 1840. In the 1846 publication, Reminiscences of Australia with Hints on the Squatters' Life, Hodgson's brother describes the conflict involved in the taking of land ownership from Aboriginal Australians. They named this property Etonvale after Eton College, the illustrious school they both attended in England. The land they marked out was in the possession of the Barunggam people and the book recorded in some detail their "constant skirmishes with the natives" to wrest control of the area, and how "so many hundreds of these poor creatures have been sacrificed". The Hodgson brothers took an active role in the killings. The homestead was decorated with "swords, guns and..all around are displayed spears, boomerangs..dillies and calabashes, the spoil of a hard fought battle or a surprised camp of natives."

In 1842 Arthur Hodgson married the daughter of Sir James Dowling, Chief Justice of New South Wales, which helped advance his position there. In 1856–61 he became general superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company.

Hodgson represented Clarence and Darling Downs in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1858 and Newcastle in 1859. After the separation of Queensland, he was elected to its Legislative Assembly representing Warrego. Hodgson was minister for public works in the Mackenzie ministry from September to November 1868 and colonial secretary in the Lilley ministry from January to November 1869. He was acting-premier during the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Sir_Arthur_Hodgson.Artist—Henry_Jones_Thaddeus.1899.jpg" caption="Sir Arthur Hodgson, Portrait by [[Henry Jones Thaddeus]], 1899"] ::

Return to England

In 1870 Hodgson returned to England, settled at Clopton House near Stratford-upon-Avon, of which town he became mayor, and took much interest in the Shakespearian memorials there, and also in the volunteer movement. Hodgson served as High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1881, as mayor of Stratford from 1883 to 1888, as well as high steward of the borough from 1884 to 1889. He represented Queensland at various European exhibitions, and did useful work in helping to develop the Queensland trade in meat and other products. Hodgson was created Companion (CMG) of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1878, and Knight Commander (KCMG) in that Order in 1886 for services in representing Queensland in the exhibitions of Vienna (1873), Paris (1878) and London (1886).

Family

Hodgson married, in 1842, Eliza Dowling, second daughter of Sir James Dowling. They had seven children, including Annie Frances Hodgson, Lady Hodgson died on 2 May 1902, in her 81st year. Hodgson died later that year, at Clopton House on 24 December 1902

Legacy

The small township of Hodgson in the Maranoa Region, the locality of Hodgson Vale in the Toowoomba Region, and Hodgson Creek in the Toowoomba Region are named in his honour.

References

Waterson, D B. (1972). "Hodgson, Sir Arthur (1818–1902)]".
{{acad
(1972). "Australian Dictionary of Biography". National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
"Reminiscences of Australia".
{{Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sir Arthur. Hodgson
{{Cite NSW Parliament
(2015). "Former Members". [[Parliament of Queensland]].
Darryl Lundy. "James Wilfrid Hewitt, 5th Viscount Lifford".
(3 May 1902). "Obituary".
{{Cite QPN. 15967. Hodgson. population centre in the Maranoa Region
{{Cite QPN. 47971. Hodgson Vale. locality in the Toowoomba Region
{{Cite QPN. 47971. Hodgson Creek. watercourse in the Toowoomba Region

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