Matthew Reid (politician)

Matthew Reid
Matthew Reid
Senator for Queensland
	In office; 1 July 1917 – 30 June 1935
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly; for Toowong
	In office; 29 April 1893 – 21 May 1896
Preceded by	Theodore Unmack
Succeeded by	Thomas Finney
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly; for Enoggera
	In office; 23 December 1899 – 11 May 1902
Preceded by	James Drake
Succeeded by	Arthur Hawthorn
Personal details
Born	30 September 1856; Ayrshire, Scotland
Died	28 August 1947 (aged 90); Brisbane, Queensland
Nationality	Scottish Australian
Political party	Labor (1893–1909) ; Liberal (1909–17) ; Nationalist (1917–31) ; UAP (1931–35)
Spouse	Mary Smart
Occupation	Labour organiser

Matthew Reid (30 September 1856 – 28 August 1947) was a Scottish-born Australian politician.

Born in Ayrshire, he worked in London as a carpenter before migrating to Australia in 1887.^[1] He was active in the Carpenters' Union and was an organiser of the Australian Labour Federation from 1890. In 1893, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the Labor member for Toowong.^[2] Defeated in 1896, he was elected as the member for Enoggera in 1899, serving until 1902.^[2] He served as President of the Queensland Labor Party in 1905, but left the party in 1909 to join the new Liberal Party.

In 1917, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Nationalist Senator for Queensland. He remained a Senator until his retirement in 1934, by which time he was a member of the United Australia Party, successor to the Nationalist Party.^[3]^[4]

Reid died in 1947, aged 90.^[3]

Personal life[edit]

Reid was a prominent Theosophist. He joined the Theosophical Society in 1908 and remained a member for the rest of his life, leaving a bequest to the society's Brisbane branch. He gave public lectures on Theosophy and was influenced by Annie Besant, teaching a class on her Study in Consciousness and helping facilitate her entry into Australia in 1922.^[3]

References[edit]

^ Sullivan, Rodney (1988). "Reid, Matthew (1856-1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stevenson, Brian (2004). "Reid, Matthew (1856–1947)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.

Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Theodore Unmack	Member for Toowong 1893 – 1896	Succeeded by Thomas Finney
Preceded by James Drake	Member for Enoggera 1899 – 1902	Succeeded by Arthur Hawthorn

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[1] Sullivan, Rodney (1988). "Reid, Matthew (1856-1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 28 July 2012.

[qp-2] "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.

[Au_Senate-3] Stevenson, Brian (2004). "Reid, Matthew (1856–1947)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[Psephos-4] Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.

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