Frederick Augusts Forbes (1818-1878)

Frederick Augusts Frobes was born on 30 September 1818 at Liverpool, New South Wales.

He was the son of Francis Ewen Forbes and Mary Anne Taboweur.  Francis Forbes, the son of a Scotch merchant, was sentenced in November 1816 to fourteen years transportation for receiving stolen property in Calcutta.  He arrived in Sydney in March of 1817, accompanied by his wife, their son, and £7,000.  Francis was granted an absolute pardon by 1821.  He formed a partnership with Edward Edgar in the Indian & South Sea trade, but with heavy losses with Edgar, combined with partnerships with Robert Cooper and James Underwood and costly litigation, Francis was left keeping a store at Liverpool.

Frederick Forbes received an education at William Cape's school and The King's School.  Prior to his father's death in May 1842, Frederick spent some time at sea, before taking over the family store at Liverpool.

In 1844 he married Margaret Milner and in late 1848 the couple relocated to Ipswich, where they opened a new store.

By 1867, Forbes owned 36 runs (2,590km²) in the Darling Downs, Maranoa, Warrego, and South Kennedy districts.

An active member of the Queensland Separation movement, he was also the secretary of a subscription library and was part of a committee advocating for the formation of a Moreton Bay Steam Navigation Co. 

His first foray into politics was in the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1856.  Unsuccessful on that attempt, he was elected to one of the three Legislative Assembly seats available in the electrical district of Ipswich at the May 1860 election.  He was defeated at the next election, held in May of 1863, however reentered the Legislative Assembly in the seat of Warrego from March 1865 to July 1867 and then the seat of West Moreton from September 1868 until his retirement in 1875.  He served as a chairman of committees in 1870 to 1871, before holding the speakership from 1871 to 1873.  He supported the introduction of South Sea Islander labourers and was opposed to the political domination of the squattocracy.

Forbes was declared bankrupt in January 1870, owing £44,621 to the Bank of New South Wales.  He was able to recover quickly and was discharged by May.

Following an accident, Forbes died on 9th July 1878 in Ipswich.  He was survived by eleven of his seventeen children.