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Edward Corser

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Edward Corser
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Wide Bay
In office
11 December 1915 – 31 July 1928
Preceded byAndrew Fisher
Succeeded byBernard Corser
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Maryborough
In office
12 October 1909 – 21 May 1915
Serving with Charles Booker
Preceded byWilliam Mitchell
Succeeded byAlfred Jones
Personal details
Born
Edward Bernard Cresset Corser

1852
Upton Cressett, Shropshire, England
Died31 July 1928 (aged 75–76)
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeMaryborough Cemetery
Political partyLiberal (1915–17)
Nationalist (1917–28)
Other political
affiliations		Ministerial
SpouseMary Jane Brown (m.1877 d.1926)
RelationsBernard Corser (son)
OccupationBusinessman

Edward Bernard Cresset Corser (1852 – 31 July 1928) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Maryborough from 1909 to 1915 and a Commonwealth Liberal Party and then Nationalist Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1915 until his death.

Early life and business career

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Corser was born at Upton Cressett, near Birmingham in England, and was educated in Worcester. He migrated to Brisbane, Queensland with his family in 1864 and worked for three years on the Maryborough Sugar Company's plantation. He then worked as a clerk for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, variously stationed in Maryborough, Brisbane and Gayndah, rising to become acting manager of the Gayndah branch at the age of 21. In 1872, he opened his own wholesale merchant business, Corser and Co. Ltd., which became a "large commercial establishment" at Maryborough selling wine, spirits and general merchandise, and continued to be managed by one of his sons after he entered politics.[1][2][3][4]

Corser was a co-founder and president of the Maryborough Chamber of Commerce, a long-serving member and nine-year chairman of the Burrum Divisional Board, president of the Maryborough Harbour Board, president of the Western Railway Association, one of the original shareholders of the Maryborough Co-operative Dairy Association Ltd., and was a member and president of the Maryborough Grammar School board and local hospitals' committee. As a prominent local figure prior to his entry into politics, he championed the construction of the Nanango railway line, Gayndah railway line and the failed Port of Urangan project. He was a supporter of both Federation and the White Australia Policy and was a strong protectionist.[1][2][3][4]

Political career

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In 1909, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the member for the multi-member seat of Maryborough, and when it became a single-member seat in 1912 was re-elected by only 10 votes. A by-election was ordered, which he was eventually declared to have won by 2 votes; a further challenge did not proceed for procedural reasons. He was defeated at the 1915 state election. His son, Bernard Corser, sat in the Legislative Assembly along with him as the member for Burnett.[5][6]

In 1915, as the candidate of the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party, he transferred to federal Parliament by winning the 1915 Wide Bay by-election caused by the resignation of Labor Prime Minister Andrew Fisher. In 1917, together with the rest of his party, he became a Nationalist.[7] He was re-elected with increasingly large majorities over time, and polled the largest majority of his career at his final election.[6]

Corser died unexpectedly in his sleep at his family's Maryborough home, "Eskdale", in 1928 while still a serving MP. His funeral was held in St Mary's Church and he was buried in Maryborough Cemetery. His son, Bernard Corser, won the by-election for his seat; Bernard had previously served alongside his father in the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[8][9][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Died in His Sleep". The Telegraph. No. 17, 366. Queensland, Australia. 31 July 1928. p. 2 (CITY EDITION). Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary". Warwick Daily News. No. 2841. Queensland, Australia. 1 August 1928. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b "LATE MR. E. B. C. CORSER". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 18, 262. Queensland, Australia. 2 August 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "MR. E. B. C. CORSER DEAD". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 18, 261. Queensland, Australia. 1 August 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ^ a b "DEATH OF MR. E. B. C. CORSER". The Brisbane Courier. No. 22, 001. Queensland, Australia. 1 August 1928. p. 15. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  8. ^ Cemeteries Online — Fraser Coast Region Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  9. ^ "THE LATE MR. E. B. C. CORSER". The Brisbane Courier. No. 22, 002. Queensland, Australia. 2 August 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Mr. E.B.C. Corser,M.P." The Telegraph. No. 17, 366. Queensland, Australia. 31 July 1928. p. 9. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Wide Bay
1915–1928 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Maryborough
1909–1915
Served alongside: Charles Booker 		Succeeded by
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