Richard Edwards Politician

Richard Edwards (1842 – 29 October 1915) was an Australian politician. Born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, he migrated to Australia in 1862, becoming first a goldminer in Victoria and then a shopkeeper in Brisbane. He invested in both sugar and newspapers. In the first federal election in 1901, Edwards was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the member for Oxley; although there was no protectionist organisation in Queensland, he described himself as such and sat with the Protectionist Party in Parliament. In 1906, he defected to the Anti-Socialist Party; after the fusion of 1909, he was a Liberal member. He retired in 1913, becoming a businessman, publisher and philanthropist.Edwards died in 1915 and was buried in Toowong Cemetery.