John Henry Kessell (1870 - 15 November 1933) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[1]

John Kessell
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Port Curtis
In office
26 October 1912 – 22 May 1915
Preceded byEdward Breslin
Succeeded byGeorge Carter
Personal details
Born
John Henry Kessell

1870
Kadina, South Australia, Australia
Died15 November 1933 (aged 62-63)
Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia
Resting placeField of Mars Cemetery
Political partyMinisterialist
SpouseSarah Rosetta Watt (m.1905)
OccupationJournalist

Biography edit

Kessell was born at Kadina, South Australia, the son of John Kessell and his wife Elizabeth (née Williams). He was educated in Bathurst and was a proprietor of the Gladstone Observer newspaper and the chairman director of the Mt. Morgan Co.[1]

He married Sarah Rosetta Watt on 2 August 1905 in Brisbane and together had one daughter. Kessell died at the Lewisham Private Hospital,[2] New South Wales, and his funeral proceeded from the Ashfield Methodist Church to the Field of Mars Cemetery.[3]

Public life edit

Kessell, representing the Ministerialists, contested the seat of Port Curtis at the 1912 state election but lost by two votes to Edward Breslin.[4] The election of Breslin was later declared null and void by Justice Charles Chubb, the elections judge of the Queensland Supreme Court[5] and Kessell won the resulting by-election in October 1912.[4] At the 1915 state election he lost the seat to George Carter.[6]

He was president of the Australian Provincial Press Association and president of the Queensland Country Press Association.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 913. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 913. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "KESSELL LEADING". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 096. Queensland, Australia. 28 October 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Port Curtis Election PetitionHansard. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  6. ^ "CONTESTED SEATS". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 896. Queensland, Australia. 26 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 17 April 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Port Curtis
1912–1915
Succeeded by