James Thornloe Smith
James Thornloe Smith (1825-1902)
1903 Obituary [1]
The Hon. JAMES THORNLOE SMITH, Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland, died at the Mansions, George Street, Brisbane, on the 14th March, 1902, aged 76.
The son of the Rev. William Smith, Wesleyan minister, he was born at Chester on the 20th August, 1825, and educated at Woodhouse Grove School, near Leeds.
After serving a pupilage to Mr. John Gray, Engineer of the Hull and Selby Railway, and being engaged for a time at Portsmouth Dockyard, he emigrated to Victoria in 1852.
Three years later he entered the Railway Department of that Colony, and was engaged on important works on the Mount Alexander line, between Elphinstone and Bendigo.
On the completion of that line in 1862, he went to Queensland, and, after spending some months in exploring the interior, joined the Railway Department of that Colony on its formation in 1863.
Two years later he was appointed Resident Engineer on the construction of part of the western line to Gatton, including the Victoria tunnel, a work of great importance at that time, and in 1867 he was transferred to the construction of the line from Toowoomba to Warwick.
In 1874 he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Southern and Western Railway, and after holding that post foreighteen months, was placed in charge of railway surveys throughout he Colony. In the latter capacity he inspected all the northern ports as far as Cooktown, making surveys into the interior to collect information for Government as to the possibility of constructing railways from the several ports. He retired from the service in 1884.
Mr. Smith became a Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland in 1888. In 1893 he was appointed to the Victoria Bridge Board, and on several occasions he acted as arbitrator for the Colonial Government in important cases.
He was elected a Member of the Institution on the 25th May, 1880.