William Hemmant, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetWilliam Hemmant
Australian politician
Date of Birth: 24-Nov-1837
Place of Birth: Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Date of Death: 20-Sep-1916
Profession: politician
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius 
About William Hemmant
- William Hemmant (24 November 1837 – 20 September 1916) was a British-Australian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1871 to 1876.Hemmant was born in Kirkgate, Yorkshire, England, to Thomas and Isabella (née Richmond) on 24 November 1837.
- He worked as a draper in London before moving in 1859 to Ballarat, Victoria, where he worked as miner during the gold rush.
- He moved to Brisbane the following year, where he established a drapery shop with Alexander Stewart.
- The Great Fire of Brisbane in 1864 was said by some to have started in the Stewart and Hemmant shop, and the two gave evidence during a colonial inquiry into the fire.
- Nonetheless, the two built a successful department store and clothing manufactury.He travelled to England to marry Lucy Ground on the 20 September 1866, and returned to Brisbane early the next year.
- In 1869 he built Eldernell House (named for a settlement in Cambridgeshire, near his wife's birthplace) which is now the home of the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane. Hemmant was a director of the Australian Bank of Commerce and an alderman on the Brisbane City Council.
- He won the seat of East Moreton in the Legislative Assembly in 1871, and successfully contested Bulimba in 1873.
- He served as Colonial Treasurer from 1874 to 1876.
- He is credited with producing four badges as candidates for the Flag of Queensland, from which the current badge, a crowned Maltese cross, was chosen. After he left politics in 1876, he returned to England with his family, settling in Kent.
- He built a house called Bulimba in Sevenoaks.
- Hemmant and Lucy had 10 children.
- He died on 20 September 1916, his 50th wedding anniversary.
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