Peter Fitzallan MacDonald: A life apart

Presents a biographical study of Peter Fitzallan MacDonald, native-born pioneer pastoralist and businessman of Central Queensland. The squatting experience in Central Queensland remains a rich source for historical research. Whilst aspects of the pastoral industry have become familiar in the telling, the unique circumstances of a particular place and era are significant to contemporary society and its use of that region. This dissertation presents a biographical study of Peter Fitzallan MacDonald, native-born pioneer pastoralist and businessman of Central Queensland. The main thrust of the thesis concerns the discovery of MacDonald the man, his personality and attitudes reflected in action and reaction throughout his life circumstances, these set within the moving frame of social change. Research was based on the vast resource of MacDonald's MSS, predominantly letterbooks, and including diaries and station books. Complementary research extended to other private MSS and to public archives, colonial historical records, parliamentary papers, district and supreme court reports, newspapers, genealogical records and oral history. The MacDonald family experience, pivotal to this study, reached back to eighteenth century convict society in New South Wales. His land exploration, speculation and squatting interests, the European!Aboriginal frontier conflict, and the division of capital and labour including the Central Queensland shearing experience were further topics of research. Investigation of his fifteen year law suit for damages against the government in a land case raised questions regarding nineteenth century regional politics and the system of jurisdiction. Intense research of his term as member of the Legislative Assembly revealed the manipulation of the political process, as well as MacDonald's own approach to politics. The conclusions drawn indicate an attempt to understand another and to provide an interpretation of a life. They confmn the premise that the contribution of every individual to society, a region and a social milieu, is significant to the history of a time.