Thomas Blacket Stephens

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Australian politician (1819–1877)

title: "Thomas Blacket Stephens" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mayors-and-lord-mayors-of-brisbane", "members-of-the-queensland-legislative-assembly", "members-of-the-queensland-legislative-council", "treasurers-of-queensland", "1819-births", "1877-deaths", "burials-at-south-brisbane-cemetery", "19th-century-australian-politicians", "pre-separation-queensland"] description: "Australian politician (1819–1877)" topic_path: "people/1810s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blacket_Stephens" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian politician (1819–1877) ::

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

Field	Value
honorific-prefix	The Hon
name	Thomas Blacket Stephens
image	StateLibQld 1 112780 Thomas Blacket Stephens, 1867.jpg
order1	6th
office1	Treasurer of Queensland
term_start1	21 May 1867
term_end1	15 August 1867
predecessor1	John Douglas
successor1	Robert Mackenzie
constituency1	Town of South Brisbane
term_start2	27 January 1869
term_end2	3 May 1870
predecessor2	Thomas Henry FitzGerald
successor2	Robert Ramsay
constituency2	Town of South Brisbane
order3	2nd
office3	Mayor of Brisbane
term_start3	1862
term_end3	1862
predecessor3	John Petrie
successor3	George Edmondstone
constituency_AM4	South Brisbane (Town of South Brisbane)
assembly4	Queensland Legislative
term_start4	10 June 1863
term_end4	13 May 1875
predecessor4	Henry Richards
successor4	Richard Kingsford
office5	Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
term_start5	22 July 1876
term_end5	26 August 1877
birth_date
birth_place	Rochdale, Lancashire, England
death_date
death_place	Brisbane, Queensland
restingplace	South Brisbane Cemetery
nationality	English
spouse	Anne Connah (m.1856 d.1904)
relations	William Stephens (son)
occupation	Fellmonger, Wool Broker, Newspaper proprietor
::

| office5 = Member of the Queensland Legislative Council | term_start5 = 22 July 1876 | term_end5 = 26 August 1877

Thomas Blacket Stephens (5 January 1819 – 26 August 1877) was a wealthy Brisbane businessman and newspaper proprietor who also served as an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

Personal life

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Thomas_Blacket_Stephens_home,_Cumbooquepa,_South_Brisbane,_Queensland.jpg" caption="Thomas Blacket Stephens home, Cumbooqueepa, South Brisbane, Queensland, circa 1860"] ::

Thomas Blacket Stephens was born on 5 January 1819 at Rochdale, Lancashire, England, the son of Rev. William Stephens (a Baptist minister) and his wife Elizabeth (née Blacket).

On 6 September 1848 Thomas emigrated from Liverpool on the ship 'Bengal' arriving in Sydney, New South Wales on 12 February 1849. His cousin Edmund Blacket was the Colonial Architect in Sydney.

Thomas married Anne Connah in Balmain, Sydney at the home of his cousin, Edmund Blacket, in 1856.

The couple moved to Moreton Bay, now Brisbane and had 12 children in Brisbane (4 of whom died in infancy). Their children were:

William (1857–1925), a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland
Emily (1860–1918)
Marian (1862–1862)
Elizabeth (1863–1940, Mrs Lang)
Richard (1865–1865)
Laura (1866–1952)
Thomas Connah (1868–1937)
Henry (1869–1870)
Sophia (1870–1956, Mrs Robertson)
Anne (1872–16 January 1872)
Llewellyn (1873–1934)
Stephen (1875–1958)

In 1860, Thomas erected a two-storey house in South Brisbane called 'Cumbooquepa' from the Aboriginal name for the waterholes on the land.

In November 1874, Thomas became seriously ill, possibly cholera acquired from a ship visiting from India. Although he recovered somewhat from his illness, he remained weak and in May 1875 retired from many of his duties and made his will.

Thomas died from congestion of the lungs, following some years of poor health following a serious illness in 1874, at his residence 'Cumbooquepa' on 26 August 1877 and was buried in South Brisbane Cemetery the following day.

In 1890, his widow Anne built a newer home 'Cumbooquepa' above Vulture Street on the property at South Brisbane. This house was later purchased in 1919 as the boarding school for the Brisbane girls' school Somerville House and is now heritage-listed. It is often stated that Thomas built or occupied this 'Cumbooquepa', but he is only associated with the earlier house.

Widow Anne died on 12 July 1904 at 'Cumbooquepa' and was buried with her husband in South Brisbane Cemetery.

Business life

Stephens had a number of companies as well as interest in land development. His first business in Brisbane is believed to be a woolscour at Ormiston near Moreton Bay.

In 1856 he purchased land at Stones Corner near Ekibin Creek and established a woolscour. The following year (1857) he purchased some adjacent land at Annerley and established a fellmongery and tanning business in Essie Street.

Thomas purchased The Moreton Bay Courier sometime in late 1859 and he soon turned it into a daily newspaper, the Courier. In 1864 it became the Brisbane Courier. In June–July 1868, he floated the Brisbane Newspaper Company, and transferred the plant and copyright of the Brisbane Courier to it. He was the managing director until he retired in November 1873, when the paper was auctioned.

Public service

Thomas was an alderman from 1859 to 1864 and was mayor in 1862 of the Brisbane Municipal Council. He served on a number of committees:

Finance Committee 1860, 1861
Improvement Committee 1860–1863
Incorporation Committee 1862,1864
Water Committee 1862–1864
Bridge Committee 1862–1864
Legislative Committee 1863, 1864
Brisbane Board of Waterworks 1866–1877

From 10 June 1863 to 13 May 1875 Thomas was the elected Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly (lower house) for the electorate of the Town of South Brisbane.

He held many senior positions in the government including"

Colonial Treasurer: 21 May 1867 – 15 August 1867
Secretary for Trade and Finance: 21 May 1867 -
Colonial Secretary: 25 November 1868 – 28 January 1869
Colonial Treasurer: 27 January 1869 – 3 May 1870
Postmaster-General: 13 November 1869 – 28 January 1870
Secretary for Public Lands: 8 January 1874 – 27 May 1875

In May 1875, he retired from public life due to an ongoing illness contracted in November 1874.

On 22 July 1876, he was appointed a life Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland (upper house) until his death on 26 August 1877.

Around 1864 to 1875 he served on the various education boards (Board of National Education, General Board of Education, Board of General Education), retiring due to his illness in May 1875.

He was also one of the first people on the board of trustees at Brisbane Grammar School.

He was a director of the South Brisbane Good Templars' Weekly Penny Savings Bank in 1874.

He was one of the original trustees of South Brisbane Cemetery and was buried there upon his death in 1877.

References

Brisbane City Council Archives
(28 August 1877). "The Late T. B. Stephens, M.L.C.". National Library of Australia.
"Thomas Blacket Stephens: Early Brisbane Pioneer". National Trust.
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Queensland
(17 January 1872). "Family Notices.". National Library of Australia.
[http://www.australianbookofmemories.com/pdf/webSTEPHENSTB.pdf Thomas Blacket Stephen: Early Brisbane Pioneer] {{Webarchive. link. (8 October 2011 , Retrieved 20 July 2009)
(17 November 1874). "Telegraphic.". National Library of Australia.
(20 November 1874). "Telegraphic.". National Library of Australia.
(27 November 1874). "Telegraphic.". National Library of Australia.
(19 May 1875). "Parliament.". National Library of Australia.
(27 August 1877). "Family Notices.". National Library of Australia.
(28 August 1877). "Telegraphic Despatches.". National Library of Australia.
(8 September 1877). "Summary for Europe.". National Library of Australia.
{{cite QHR. 15080. Somerville House. 600305
''Moreton Bay Courier'' 26 May 1860, page 2, documents that he had been the proprietor for some time by then; his proprietorship likely corresponds with Theophilus Parsons Pugh taking on the editorship in November 1859
T. B. Stephens. (2 July 1868). "Notice". The Brisbane Courier.
Reid, Elgin. (1976). "Thomas Blacket Stephens (1819–1877)".
Judith Womersley, Mark Richmond. (2001). "AussieData: From Prehistory to the Present". Wakefield Press.
[http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/historical/documents/membregisterHB.pdf Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2009 and of the Legislative Council 1860–1922] {{Webarchive. link. (15 June 2009)
(22 May 1867). "GAZETTE.". National Library of Australia.
(30 January 1869). "Executive Council Office,.". National Library of Australia.
(30 January 1869). "Executive Council Office,.". National Library of Australia.
(15 November 1869). "OFFICIAL NOTIFICATIONS.". National Library of Australia.
(16 December 1864). "NATIONAL SCHOOL.". National Library of Australia.
(24 January 1865). "SOUTH BRISBANE PRIMARY SCHOOL.". National Library of Australia.
(15 February 1868). "GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATIONS.". National Library of Australia.
(21 April 1873). "OFFICIAL NOTIFICATIONS.". National Library of Australia.
(3 October 1874). "Telegraphic.". National Library of Australia.
(29 March 1875). "Official Notifications.". National Library of Australia.
(24 May 1875). "The Brisbane Courier.". National Library of Australia.
(19 January 1874). "TELEGRAPHIC.". National Library of Australia.
{{cite QHR. 16563. South Brisbane Cemetery. 602406
[https://archive.today/20120805221339/https://online.brisbane.qld.gov.au/cemeteries/cemeteries_step3.jsp?mapdisplay=111133 Stephens, Thomas Blackett] — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 5 November 2011.

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