Over 150 years ago the city of Ipswich, Queensland, claimed a previously unknown and remarkable piece of history. I told a version of this story live on Ipswich’s West Bremer Radio.

William Matson was of African descent born in Dominica in the Caribbean in 1830. His father was the police magistrate there who was appointed following the abolition of slavery upon the passing in the United Kingdon of the Slavery Abolition Action of 1833. Young Matson was quite possibly born into slavery.

Matson came to the Australian colonies, to Ipswich, and conducted a labour agency office in the centre of town in East Street. He first tried to run to represent the West Moreton electorate in the Queensland colonial elections of 1867. Matson was nominated by the Ipswich publican and alderman John Clune, but there was no seconder.

Matson tried again in 1870 and this time got his chance – twice, firstly in a byelection and secondly in the general election itself.

Matson entered the election year with a vivid past. In 1865 Matson was charged with causing actual bodily harm after the proprietor of the Sovereign Hotel found Matson in bed with his wife. In 1866 Matson was charged with breaking into a railway contractor’s office while attempting to commit industrial espionage. In 1867 Matson failed to pay the maintenance for his illegitimate child.

The first charge was heard before none other than the colony’s first chief justice Sir James Cockle. In all cases Matson avoided punishment and so the natural career progression for a man covered in Teflon was to set his sights on parliament.

Come 1870, Matson was quite a celebrated orator. Matson was well received in the Brisbane School of Arts building where he spoke about “Queensland and its public men” which was attended by over 100 people including several of the leading politicians of the time.

But in his political campaign, Matson made the mistake of taking on one particular member of the press.

Robert Allwood was a journalist who would go on to fill virtually every position that a newspaper had to offer, from roller boy up to editor nine or ten times. He would later be sub-editor when he testified against his own editor who was suing the newspaper owners for wrongful dismissal. The editor lost the case because he was giving all the work to Allwood, and so and Allwood got the job. Allwood was also the grandson of the chief justice of Jamaica who had received significant compensation at the abolition of slavery, having owned more than 500 slaves at the time.

Anyway in the 1870 campaign, Matson took a disliking to Allwood which was aggravated because he believed he didn’t get fair coverage of his major speech on the hustings. Matson ruthlessly abused the journalist – in the Ipswich courthouse no less. The verbal assault was so bad that Matson was taken to court and convicted of abusive language in a public place and fined 10 shillings.

The byelection was in June. The results were Ferrett 285, Matson 178, with Ipswich’s Caribbean candidate losing by a margin of just 107 votes.

In the general election in August, the electors of West Moreton voted in three representatives. Well back in fourth place was Matson, although he did come first in Goodna.

Those elected included George Thorn Junior whose father was one of the founders of Ipswich, and who would go on to become the 6^th premier of Queensland.

Then there was Frederick Forbes. Forbes would become speaker of the legislative assembly, an advocate of opium growing in Ipswich, and would mysteriously die after he was found lying senseless on Brisbane Road.

The third member elected was John Ferrett the coal mine proprietor and Bundamba councillor who had beaten Matson in the byelection.

As for Matson, he was given the least desirable job that the Queensland public service had to offer. Matson was appointed the government agent to accompany ships employed in the Polynesian labour trade. Blackbirding. The reason no one wanted that job was because it was not unknown for that person to be killed and eaten by the islanders, which was considered a natural risk of the job.

The journalist reporting on Matson’s appointment wrote that Matson “may reap his reward in a clay oven”. And that journalist was working with the journalist Robert Allwood who no doubt believed he had the last laugh.

Ipswich’s William Matson died working with the railway department in Rockhampton, his cause of death recorded as “black jaundice supervening upon disease of the spleen”. Today that would be described as liver failure and malaria, which he probably contracted while blackbirding.

Ipswich had gone within 107 votes of electing the only probable former slave to any parliament in Australia.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A VERSION OF THIS STORY TOLD ON WEST BREMER RADIO.

Photo credits:
The Former Slave Who Challenged Queensland Politics – Harold Peacock with Copilot.
James Cockle the first Chief Justice of Queensland 1863-1879 – State Library of Queensland.
Ipswich Old Courthouse, 2024 – Harold Peacock 20241020_060709.
John Ferret Queensland Politician – Wikipedia Public Domain.
George Thorn junior – State Library of Queensland.
Frederick Augustus Forbes – State Library of Queensland.