Charles Blakeney (politician)

Charles Blakeney
Charles William Blakeney, circa 1865
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Town Of Brisbane
In office 11 May 1860 – 25 November 1865 Serving with George Raff, William Brookes, Henry Jordan, Robert Cribb, Theophilus Pugh
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	George Raff
Personal details
Born	Charles William Blakeney (1802-07-15)15 July 1802 County Roscommon, Ireland
Died	12 January 1876(1876-01-12) (aged 73) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	South Brisbane Cemetery
Nationality	Irish
Spouse(s)	Ellen Frances Jeffries
Relations	William Newcome (grandfather), William Blakeney (son)
Occupation	Barrister, Judge
Religion	Church of England

Charles William Blakeney (1802-1876) was a judge and politician in Queensland, Australia.

Charles William Blakeney was born in Cooltigue Castle, County Roscommon, Ireland in 1802. He was the eldest son of Rev. Thomas Blakeney and his wife Alicia (née Newcome), daughter of Archbishop William Newcome, primate of Ireland.

He went to study at Trinity College, Dublin in January 1820 but never completed a degree.

In 1826 he married Ellen Frances, the daughter of John Jeffries of Blarney Castle, County Cork. They had three children:

In 1831 he became a barrister in London and in Ireland in 1836.

Following the death of his father in 1845, he inherited the family property, Holywell, in Roscommon from which he derived a rental income of £1500 per annum. However, he led an extravagant life and eventually lost his assets through his gambling debts. An obituary published at the time of his death suggested that he had lost his estates due to the effects of the Irish Famine, as landholders were required to provide relief for their tenants. His son William Theophilus Blakeney had already immigrated to New South Wales so Charles Blakeney decided to immigrate too, where he became a barrister in the Northern Circuit Court of Moreton Bay, moving to Brisbane in 1859.

He was elected a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for the seat of Town of Brisbane from 11 May 1860 to 25 November 1865. He was Chairman of Committees from 12 June 1861 to 22 May 1863.

He resigned in order to take up appointment as the first judge of the Western District Court, which covered Condamine, Dalby and Roma.

As the judge, Charles Blakeney presided over the 1873 trial of Harry Redford (sometimes spelled Readford) at Roma Courthouse. Redford was a cattle rustler, who is believed to be the inspiration for the fictional character Captain Starlight in the novel Robbery Under Arms. In 1870, Redford was working as a on Bowen Downs Station near Longreach in Queensland, where, with two associates, George Dewdney and William Rooke, he stole about 1,000 cattle. Knowing the cattle would be easily identified by their cattle brands in Queensland, he drovethe cattle through the inhospitable terrain of the Channel Country and the Strzelecki Desert to South Australia where he sold the cattle for £5,000.