Claudius Buchanan Whish
Australian politician (1827-1890)
Claudius Buchanan Whish (5 January 1827 – 28 February 1890) was a prominent sugar-planter, civil servant and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Early life
Whish was born in London, the son of General Sir William Whish, Royal Artillery, and his wife Mary, née Hardwicke.
Military service
In 1851, Whish served in India under the 14th Light Dragoons as an interpreter and bazaar master, officer of public works and assistant quartermaster general of cavalry on General Jacob's staff during the Persian campaign of 1856.
Following a promotion to captain in 1857, Whish traveled to the Australian colonies of New South Wales and South Australia to buy cavalry remounts for the Indian army. He married Anne Whish, née Ker, in Bombay about 1858.
Sugar cane plantation owner
Whish migrated to Queensland on the Young Australia and began the Oaklands sugar plantation in Caboolture on 15 August 1862. His crop did well and he became chairman of the local planters' association and hired Pacific islanders to work on the crop. Although this move lost him the favour of the people, after 1865 it helped to preserve his £5000 investment.
Politics
Whish tried and failed to win the seat of East Moreton in the Queensland Legislative Assembly elections in 1867, and a committee on Pacific island labour was informed that whippings had taken place on Whish's estate.
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