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Douglas, Isle of Man

Douglas (Doolish, ) is the capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of 10.5 km2 (4.05  mi2). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of 2 mi. The River Douglas forms part of the city's harbour and main commercial port.

Douglas was a small settlement until it grew rapidly as a result of links with the English port of Liverpool in the 18th century. Further population growth came in the following century, resulting during the 1860s in a staged transfer of the High Courts, the Lieutenant Governor's residence (actually located in nearby Onchan), and finally the seat of the legislature, Tynwald, to Douglas from the ancient capital, Castletown.

The city is the island's main hub for business, finance, legal services, shipping, transport, shopping, and entertainment. The annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle races start and finish in Douglas.

Name
It is generally agreed upon that the toponyms of English Douglas and Manx Doolish both come from Proto-Celtic *duboglassio-, where *dubo- (which survives today in Welsh as du and Irish as dubh) meant 'black; deep' and *glassio- (surviving in Welsh glais and Irish glais) meant 'water, river'; thus, it probably meant 'deep river'. The name of the city thus came from a nearby river. It is a common name for place names around the British Isles, related to other toponyms such as Dyfleis, Dulais, Develish, Dawlish, Dowlish and, of course, other settlements named Douglas.

Early history
In the absence of any archaeological data, the origins of the city may be revealed by analysis of the original street and plot pattern. The discovery of a bronze weapon in central Douglas, and the large Ballaquayle Viking treasure hoard on the outskirts (now in the Manx Museum and British Museum, London ), both in the 1890s, hint at the early importance of the site now occupied by Douglas. Scholars agree that the name of the city derives from Early Celtic 'Duboglassio' meaning 'black river'. Douglas is twice referred to in the monastic Chronicle of the Kings of Man and the Isles: first in 1190, when the monks of St Mary's Abbey at Rushen were transferred there for a four-year stay; then again in 1313, when Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, spent the night at the "monastery of Duglas" on his way to seize Castle Rushen. These may be references to the site of the later Nunnery, a little upstream from the port.

The first detailed documentation shows that in 1511 there were only thirteen resident households in the settlement clustered north of the harbour; most of the property there was classified as "chambers" (unoccupied, unheated, single-celled structures) for which rent was paid by non-residents including clergy, officials and landowners from elsewhere on the island. This suggests that the city's nucleus originated as a non-urban port. Speculation links the store buildings with the Irish Sea herring fishery, and the import/export trade.

Growth and development
In 1681 Thomas Denton described Douglas as "the place of greatest resort" on the Isle of Man, and by 1705 a clear picture of the early town emerges, with hints that its residential, market, and military defence functions were growing in importance alongside the port facility. The town thrived in the next 60 years, as imposing merchants' houses, large warehouses, quays and a pier were built to accommodate the burgeoning "running trade" (smuggling): one of the stimuli for the town's expansion. Other forms of trade also grew, and after the Revestment Act 1765, Douglas began to reap the benefits of transatlantic trade, due in part to co-operation at a local level with Liverpool. Legitimate merchants who rose to prominence over the period included the Murreys, the Moores, and the Bacons. The town's later prosperity was facilitated by the low cost of living, and the favourable legal status enjoyed by English debtors and half-pay officers. The initial growth and development of the ALR owed much to its natural harbour (now the Inner Harbour), since greatly expanded and improved. Over the 18th century, the town's population rose from about 800 in 1710 to nearly 2,500 in 1784.

Throughout the 19th century, the town's demographics followed the same trends as the United Kingdom, due to the Industrial Revolution. The number of holiday visitors grew from the early 19th century, and from around 1870 onwards, the town was transformed into a leading holiday resort. But there were increasingly unsanitary conditions, and poor quality housing; again reflecting a trend seen across the United Kingdom. The open sewage, middens (domestic waste dumps), and smell from the harbour at low tide all contributed to the town's uncleanliness. Oil and gas lamps first appeared in the late 1820s and 1830s, the first hospital to join the Dispensary was built in 1850, and in 1832 the scenic Tower of Refuge was built in Douglas Bay to offer shelter and provisions for sailors awaiting rescue. Douglas in the first half of the 19th century often suffered from the destitution of its population and the many epidemics, in particular cholera.

The rise of Douglas as the social and economic stronghold was recognised in 1869, when it became the home of the island's parliament, Tynwald, and therefore the capital, an honour previously held by Castletown, a smaller town in the south of the island. Douglas's political landscape also changed significantly in the 19th century, in spite of the conservatism of some townsfolk: in 1844, for example, at a public meeting, the idea of a town council was rejected in favour of retaining the system of Town High Bailiffs; when the Town Bill Act was passed at Tynwald in 1852, the people of Douglas again rejected the idea. However, an Act passed later that decade, which did not include opt-out clauses, was accepted, and in 1860, Douglas elected its first town council, which was predominantly middle class in its makeup. The Town Commissioners could tackle the town's problems with greater efficiency, and by 1869 the sewage problem had been largely resolved.

The Commissioners also worked to alter the anachronistic architecture of Douglas, built during the era of fishing and trading, and no longer amenable or safe for tourists. The proportion of the total Manx population living in Douglas was also expanding, with 35% living there by 1891. The Victorian and later modernisation of the town was achieved at the expense of the original maze-like layout of the oldest streets. These were cleared away in the new street schemes and slum clearances of the 1870s to 1920s. The town's infrastructure was radically altered for tourists' convenience, and in 1878 the Loch Promenade was constructed. In 1870, there were 60,000 visitors annually; by 1884, this had grown to 182,000. In 1887, 310,916 visited for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

Seafaring links

The earliest organised ferry services emerged between Douglas and Whitehaven, established by William Nicholson in the 1750s. More formally, Nicholson's Packet Service began in 1765 or 1766, and the Post Office mail contract was secured by 1782. Sailings were irregular and heavily dependent on weather conditions. Steamer services brought a considerable improvement; the first regular link (en route between Greenock and Liverpool) was available from 1819. The formation of what became the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1830 led to greatly improved services, and also laid the foundations for growth in both cargo and tourist traffic.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has a lifeboat station at Douglas. The first lifeboat station in the port was established in 1802. In 1825 it was one of the first lifeboat stations to be provided with a purpose-built lifeboat; this was at the request of Sir William Hillary, the founder of the Institution. It was not operational between 1851 and 1868, and it closed in 1895. The station, established in 1874, operates the Tyne-class lifeboat Sir William Hillary. There are three memorials to Sir William in Douglas: one in St George's Church where he was buried in 1847, one on Loch Promenade, and the other on Douglas Head near where he established the Tower of Refuge in 1832.

Recent history
During the First and Second World Wars, Douglas and other parts of the Isle of Man were home to internment camps for "enemy aliens". Douglas held seven out of the ten internment camps on the island during World War II, including: Hutchinson, Metropole, Central, Palace, Granville and Sefton Camp. Sections of the Promenade were cordoned off and many guest houses were used for the purpose. The war dead of the island are commemorated on the Douglas War Memorial.

Douglas is now the main home of the island's offshore financial services industry, and also of the main shopping centre.

The city was the birthplace of the Gibb brothers, Maurice, Robin, both deceased, and Barry, the members of the Bee Gees.

Douglas was home to the Summerland leisure centre, which suffered a catastrophic fire in 1973.

In 2011 Douglas hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games.

On 20 May 2022, it was announced that, as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours, Douglas would receive city status by Letters Patent sometime later in 2022. The letters patent was expected to be effective from 1 November 2022, although there were some reports in November 2022 that it was somehow delayed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, to a unknown date. A council meeting was said to discuss the issue in February 2023, but it was not discussed. Queen Camilla presented Letters Patent conferring city status on 20 March 2024.

Geography
Douglas is on the east of the island near the confluence of the two rivers Dhoo and Glass forming the Douglas. At Douglas, the river flows through the quay and into Douglas Bay. A gently sloping valley runs inland and there are hills around the city. The city is surrounded by several villages, most notably Onchan to the north-east (which forms a conurbation with Douglas) and Union Mills to the west.

Climate
The weather reporting station closest to Douglas is the coastal weather station at Ronaldsway, about 7 mi south-west of Douglas. The highest temperature recorded in Ronaldsway stands at 28.9 C, recorded in July 1983. On average, a temperature of 25 C or more is recorded 0.8 days per year at Ronaldsway (1981–2010) and on average the highest temperature of the year is 24.1 C.

On average, 14.5 days of air frost per year were recorded at Ronaldsway in the period 1981–2010. The lowest temperature recorded in Ronaldsway is -9.1 C, recorded in December 1961. For the period of 1981–2010, the lowest temperature of the year was -3.4 C on average.

Demography
The Isle of Man census 2021 lists the population of Douglas as 26,677, a reduction from the 2011 population of 27,938. The 2001 census gave a population of 25,347. The city has 31.73% of the island's total population of 84,069.

Governance
Douglas elects eight members of the House of Keys: two each from four constituencies (Central, East, South and North). The House of Keys is the lower house of Tynwald, the Manx parliament. The local authority responsible for the running of services is the Douglas Corporation; 18 elected councillors sit as members of Douglas City Council (formerly, up until 2022, Douglas Borough Council).

Transport
Douglas is the hub of the island's bus network, with frequent services to Port Erin, Peel and Ramsey, as well as various local bus services. The city also has the termini of the two main railway lines on the island: the steam railway to Port Erin and the electric tramway to Ramsey. It is also the home of the ferry terminal, from where the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates regular services to Heysham and to Liverpool (Birkenhead in winter) and occasional services to Dublin and to Belfast.

Media
The Isle of Man's three main radio stations Manx Radio, Energy FM and 3FM are all based in Douglas.

Local TV coverage is served by BBC North West Tonight on BBC One and ITV Granada Reports on ITV1.

The town is served by these local newspapers, the Isle of Man Examiner, the Isle of Man Courier and the Manx Independent.

Education
References to education in Douglas begin in the late 17th century, with mention of the schoolmastership, usually combined with the Chaplaincy of Douglas, and reference to a "petty school" in 1675. William Walker (1679–1729) was appointed to the mastership in 1700, school being probably kept in the old Chapel, (in later Heywood Place. ) Later being preferred as Rector of Ballaugh, and the recipient of an honorary Doctorate, Walker is now remembered in his mother's Manx Gaelic lament on her sons: "Illiam Walker as Robin Tear". The more formal history of education in the city begins with Bishop Thomas Wilson's establishment of the Douglas Grammar School. Alderman William Dixon (a native of Douglas, but resident in Dublin since at least the 1680s ) agreed to hand over his parents' former home, and passed over the New Bond Street property in 1714. The Bishop raised an endowment of £500 (Irish currency), half being funded by the Barrow Trustees, most of the balance being provided by the Bishop's Douglas relatives, the Murrey family. Even after this, the mastership of Douglas Grammar School continued to be combined with the Chaplaincy, now of the new Chapel of St Matthew. Details of the building of the original Grammar School are sparse, but it seems that William Murrey was deeply involved, retaining the use of the capacious storage vault under the school in lieu of repayment of £150 costs.

Another notable Master of the Grammar School was Rev. Philip Moore (1705–1783) who was a native of the city, his father Robert Moore having been one of the "Undertakers" who organised the construction of St Matthews, and his mother Miss Katherine Kelly. Moore was appointed Master in 1735, and was reckoned to be a good classical scholar, and have "an inherent love of teaching".

Today, Douglas has two high schools: Ballakermeen High School and St. Ninian's High School, and numerous primary schools. University College Isle of Man and the International Business School are also located in Douglas.

Landmarks

Douglas has a number of attractions and items of interest:

 * The Tower of Refuge is a small castle-like shelter built upon Conister Rock in Douglas Bay as a sanctuary for shipwrecked sailors. Construction was instigated by Sir William Hillary, founder of the RNLI.
 * Douglas Head is home to the Grand Union Camera Obscura which has recently undergone restoration and is open to the public during the summer months. Other artefacts and remnants of Victorian Tourism can still be found on walks around the area.
 * The horse-drawn trams that run along the promenade from the Villa Marina to the Manx Electric Railway station from spring to early autumn.
 * Steam trains run 15 miles from Douglas railway station to Port Erin in the south of the island.
 * The Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road marks the start and finish of the annual TT Races and various other motorsports.
 * The Gaiety Theatre and the Villa Marina are popular venues for all manner of stage acts: from rock music to comedy to drama to ballet. The Gaiety Theatre is one of the best surviving examples of the work of Frank Matcham and dates from 1900. Both venues have recently undergone extensive renovations.
 * The award-winning Manx Museum in Kingswood Grove contains many of the most important cultural artefacts relating to the Manx nation. Highlights include the Calf of Man Crucifixion Stone, the Pagan Lady's necklace from the Viking excavations at Peel Castle, and the largest collection of Archibald Knox materials. It also houses the National Art Collection, and the National Archives.
 * The Jubilee clock is a street clock built in 1887 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign. It is located at the foot of Victoria Street at its junction with Loch Promenade. The location also marked the lower terminus of the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway.
 * Other buildings of interest include Isola restaurant, in John Street, and the Douglas Hotel, on the North Quay, both merchants' houses from the mid-18th century; the Castle Mona (formerly the Quality Hotel), a seaside mansion built by John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl in 1804, awaiting refurbishment; and the Loch Promenade, a curving terrace of former boarding houses dating from the 1870s.

Douglas saw the first architectural essays of the Arts and Crafts architect Baillie Scott.
 * The breakwater extension was built outside the existing smaller one, which carried a rail-mounted crane. It was completed in 1983 and opened by Princess Alexandra.
 * The Sunken Gardens on Loch Promenade were created as a result of the widening of the promenade at the turn of the 20th century. A construction line was installed for this task.

Sport
Douglas is the start and finish point for the Isle of Man TT. The race had been a part of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship but lost its status when a new British motorcycle Grand Prix was established in 1977.

The Isle of Man Cricket Club was formed in 1930 and later reformed as the IoM Cricket Association. It was elected a member of the International Cricket Council in 2004.

The National Sports Centre (NSC), is a large multi-sports centre and athletics stadium located on Pulrose Road. Owned by the Department of Tourism and Leisure it is operated by Manx Sport & Recreation. The King George V Bowl, a multi-use stadium located on Pulrose Road is owned by Douglas Borough Council.

A free Parkrun takes place in Nobles Park, St. Ninian's Road every Saturday.

Douglas is home to eight of the seventeen football clubs that compete in the Isle of Man Football League:

Douglas Rugby Club and Vagabonds Rugby Club are based in the city. Their 1st teams play in the English competitions and reserve teams play in the Manx Rugby competition.

Science & technology

 * Professor Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (1815 in Douglas – 1854 in Edinburgh) a Manx naturalist.
 * David W. Lewis, mathematician known for his contributions to quadratic forms theory
 * Gordon Manley FRGS (1902 in Douglas – 1980) an English climatologist
 * Dorothy Pantin (1896 -1985) the first woman doctor and surgeon of the Isle of Man
 * Derek Charles Robinson FRS (1941 in Douglas – 2002 in Oxford) a physicist who worked in the UK fusion power program

Public service & commerce

 * Commander Robert Benjamin Young, RN (1773 in Douglas – 1846 in Exeter) an officer in the Royal Navy, he observed the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 from the deck of HMS Entreprenante
 * Arthur Forbes, 9th Laird of Culloden DL FRSE (1819 in Douglas - 1879 in Aldershot) a noted Scottish landowner and amateur botanist. He was Deputy Lieutenant of Nairn and Ross
 * Thomas Edward Brown (1830 in Douglas – 1897) a scholar, teacher, poet and theologian
 * Lawrence Adamson, CMG, (1860 in Douglas – 1932) a schoolmaster of Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia.
 * Admiral Sir Thomas Hugh Binney KCB KCMG DSO (1883 in Douglas – 1953 in Colchester) a senior officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of Tasmania from 1945 to 1951
 * Sidney Nowell Rostron (1883 in Douglas – 1948) a Church of England priest, theologian, and academic. He was the first Principal of St John's College, Durham, 1909 to 1911
 * Bertram Kelly (1884 in Douglas – 1976) brought electricity to the Island
 * Chris Killip (born 1946 in Douglas) a Manx photographer who has worked at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts since 1991, where he is a professor of visual and environmental studies
 * Angela Little (born 1949 in Douglas) Professor Emerita at the Institute of Education, University of London works in primary education policy and practice in developing countries
 * Phil Gawne BSc (born 1965 in Douglas) a former Member of the House of Keys and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

The Arts

 * William Clucas Kinley (1866–1920), Manx playwright and journalist
 * Otto Schwarz (1876–1961), travelling bandleader from Germany, who was interned in the prisoner of war camp at Douglas in 1914–1918.
 * Harry Korris (1891–1971) a British comedian and actor, star of the hit BBC radio show Happidrome and starred in the 1943 film version
 * William Thomas Quirk (1908-1977), Manx poet, composer, and teacher
 * Toni Onley OC (1928–2004) a Manx painter noted for his landscapes and abstract works, he moved to Canada in 1948 and lived in Brantford, Ontario
 * Bryan Kneale RA (born 1930) a Manx artist and sculptor, described by BBC News Online as "one of the Isle of Man's best known artists."
 * Sir Barry Gibb, CBE (born 1946) a British singer, songwriter and record producer who is the last living member of The Bee Gees
 * Maurice Gibb, CBE (1949–2003) a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who achieved fame as a member of the Bee Gees
 * Robin Gibb CBE (1949–2012) a British singer, songwriter and record producer, who gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees
 * Francis Magee (born 1959 in Dublin) an Irish-Manx actor, best known for his portrayal of Liam Tyler in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders from 1993 to 1995; raised on the Isle of Man
 * Jamie Blackley (born 1991) a British actor, known for his role as Adam Wilde in the film If I Stay
 * Amy Jackson (born 1992) a Manx-born, Liverpool raised actress, who appears in Indian movies
 * Joe Locke (born 2003) a Manx actor, best known for his portrayal of Charlie Spring in the Netflix series Heartstopper

Sport

 * Dave Moore (born 1966), Motorsport commentator
 * Tim Kneale (born 1982 in Douglas) a Manx sport shooter who specializes in the double trap
 * Mark Cavendish (born 1985 in Douglas) a Manx professional road racing cyclist
 * Conor Cummins (born 1986 in Douglas) a Manx motorcycle road racer
 * Kieran Tierney (born 1997 in Douglas) a Manx-born, Scottish international footballer. He plays for Arsenal F.C.

Panoramas of Douglas

title: Douglas, Isle of Man


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Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore is a city located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area, it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the state. Lismore is 734 km north of Sydney and 200 km south of Brisbane. It is situated on a low floodplain on the banks of the Wilsons River near the latter's junction with Leycester Creek, both tributaries of the Richmond River which enters the Pacific Ocean at Ballina, 30 km to the east.

The original settlement initially developed as a grazing property in the 1840s, then became a timber and agricultural town and inland port based around substantial river traffic, which prior to the development of the road and rail networks was the principal means of transportation in the region. Use of the river for transport declined and then ceased around the mid-twentieth century, however by that time Lismore (which was elevated to city status in 1946) had become well established as the largest urban centre in the region, providing its surrounding area with a range of services. The city is also located on the Bruxner Highway which crosses the Wilsons River at Lismore, and was formerly a stop on the Casino-Murwillumbah railway line. It is the home of one of the three campuses of Southern Cross University.

With its low-lying position adjacent to the Wilsons River, which can rise rapidly following periods of high rainfall in its catchment, the centre of Lismore is susceptible to flooding, although it is partly protected by a system of levees and flood gates. Noteworthy recent floods occurred in 1974, 2017 in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie and the worst ever in 2022. A budget was announced for additional flood mitigation works in November 2018.

At the, the urban population of Lismore was 28,816.

Pre-colonial history
The city of Lismore lies in the Bundjalung people's nation area. However, the actual area of the Bundjalung people from Evans Head is currently under examination, as well as the actual origin of the name Bundjalung. It has been suggested that the Aboriginal people called the area Tuckurimbah meaning "glutton."

Early colonial history
The British history of the city begins in c. 1843: a pastoral run covering an area of 93 sqkm was taken up by Captain Dumaresq at this time covering the Lismore area and was stocked with sheep from the New England area. Ward Stephens took up the run in the same year, but the subtropical climate was unsuited for sheep grazing, so it was eventually abandoned. In January 1845, William and Jane Wilson took it over. The Wilsons were Scottish immigrants, who arrived in New South Wales in May 1833. Mrs. Wilson named the property after the small island of Lismore, one of the Inner Hebrides in Loch Linnhe, Argyleshire.

In 1855, the surveyor Frederick Peppercorne was instructed by Sir Thomas Mitchell to determine a site for a township in the area. Peppercorne submitted his map of the proposed village reserve on 16 February 1856. The chosen site was William Wilson's homestead paddock and the area was proclaimed the "Town of Lismore" in the NSW Government Gazette on 1 May 1856. The township was soon settled and its post office was opened on 1 October 1859. The Wilson family then established a new homestead at Monaltrie, some 6 km south of Lismore, in 1861 which still survives and has been stated to be "Lismore's oldest home".

From the 1840s onwards, timber cutters moved up the Richmond River from its Ballina entrance felling timber from the extensive, previously untouched subtropical rainforest covering the region known as the "Big Scrub"; their primary interest was the Australian red cedar, Toona ciliata, known locally as "red gold", which was highly prized for its appearance, ease of working, and pest resistance. At that time there was no substantial network of roads so rivers were the primary means of access and bulk transportation. Despite its low-lying position and propensity for flooding (which was to cause problems in subsequent times), Lismore developed as an inland port owing to its location at the highest navigable point for large cargo-carrying vessels on the north arm of the Richmond, later renamed the Wilsons, River. For the second half of the 19th century the primary industries of the Lismore region continued to be cattle grazing and timber, supporting a growing economy and population and the development of secondary industries which included ship building, transportation, saw milling, tallow manufacturing and more. As the Big Scrub was cleared, it was steadily replaced with new pasture which formed the basis of a flourishing dairy industry, and many processing plants ("butter factories") and dairy cooperatives were established throughout the region. Infrastructure development in Lismore continued, including the presence of three schools by 1879, a new Government Wharf in 1880, two new bridges over the river in 1884 and 1885, the railway station (1894) and a new post office building (1898); by the end of that century Lismore had a population of over 4,500, although had suffered from some ravages including numerous floods plus a period of drought in the last half of the 1890s.

20th century and beyond
At the beginning of the 20th century, river navigation was still the mainstay of transportation in Lismore, the principal operator being the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. The dairy industry was performing strongly, employing hundreds of small family-owned operations, the Lismore region becoming the centre for dairy production from the surrounding farms and the richest dairy district in Australia. The railway station had opened in 1894 as the starting point of the Murwillumbah railway line which, starting at that time in Lismore, ran to the coast at Byron Bay (from which steamers could be caught to Sydney) and then on to Murwillumbah, and subsequently in 1903 inland to Casino, but was not connected to any national network. However, as the century progressed, development of a better road network and the advance of motor transportation made inroads into the long-term success of both the river and rail traffic which eventually declined: river traffic was also affected by requisitioning of ships during the second world war and the largest shipping line operating on the two arms of the Richmond River, the North Coast Steam Navigation Company, went into liquidation in 1954; the railway line lasted until 2004 when it was closed on purely economic grounds after advising that it was "unprofitable" to continue providing services to Murwillumbah, putting an end to 110 years of rail transport in the region. Meanwhile, economic development in Lismore continued, including construction of a new School of Arts (1907, destroyed by fire in 1932), building of churches for four denominations, opening of a new Norco (dairy farmers' cooperative) factory in 1931, and other utilities.

City status
Lismore was officially gazetted as a city on 9 September 1946, with grant of an official coat of arms on 29 January 1947. In the early 1950s, civic pride was boosted by a visit from the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II with her consort who visited the city in February 1954, staying at the city's Gollan Hotel.

Television came to the city in 1956 and a local channel commenced broadcast in 1962 in the suburb of Goonellabah, which had been incorporated into the city of Lismore four years earlier. In 1969, the aerodrome at South Lismore received its licence from the Department of Civil Aviation, becoming the basis of the future Lismore Airport. The 1960s were something of a boom time in development for Lismore, although the dairy industry was starting to decline and by the end of that decade and into the 1970s, many farmers turned to raising beef cattle instead, or simply let their land condition lapse.

In 1963, a new bridge (the Ballina St. bridge) was opened to carry the Bruxner Highway road traffic across the Wilsons River; previously all traffic between the east and west banks of the river has to travel via the narrower, upstream Fawcett Bridge, originally constructed in 1894, before even motor traffic had come to the area.

Later, especially following the 1973 "alternative society" Aquarius Festival, which was held in the nearby village of Nimbin, the area began to attract so-called "alternative lifestylers" who were able to buy ex-dairying land at reasonable prices and re-invigorate the area with a range of pursuits and values of interest to a new generation, including an interest in owner-building of residences, experiments in communal living, environmental awareness and various artistic and creative activities, leading to badging of the area around Lismore as the "rainbow region". Meanwhile, Lismore has also become a regional centre for higher education: the original Lismore Teachers College (1970 onwards) becoming first the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education in 1973, then an associate member of the University of New England, and finally (together with UNE-Coffs Harbour Centre), forming the Lismore Campus of the new Southern Cross University (established 1 January 1994). In addition, tourism has become an important contributor to the region's economy as well as the development of new agricultural products such as macadamias, avocado and stone fruit, pecans, and boutique coffee plantations, which are well suited to the rich volcanic soils, subtropical climate and moderately high rainfall of the area.

As traditional agricultural and manufacturing sectors have declined somewhat, so employment in the service sector has expanded. At the 2016 census, within Lismore City and the surrounding region (43,135 persons) the top employment sectors reported were Health Care and Social Assistance (4,534 persons), Retail Trade (2,491 persons), Education and Training (2,448 persons) and Accommodation and Food Services (1,297 persons), followed by Public Administration and Safety (1,204 persons), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (1,018 persons), Manufacturing (1,000 persons) and Construction (967 persons).

Surviving buildings of historical interest within Lismore City include the old Council Chambers (1928) in Molesworth Street designed by William Gilroy, now home to the Richmond River Historical Society Museum with a collection of objects, documents and photographs relevant to the historical development of the area, including Aboriginal artifacts; the Art Nouveau post office (1897), designed by W.L. Vernon; the original Australian Joint Stock Bank (1891), built in the Italianate style, now the T & G Building; the classical revival courthouse (1883) in Zadoc Street; and various churches including St Andrew's Anglican Church (1904), St Carthage's Roman Catholic Cathedral (1892–1907), the Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church (1908–09), the Church of Christ (1923), and St Paul's Presbyterian Church (1907–08). The commercial city centre retains many shopfronts ranging in date from the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries with little modern intrusion; a feature of interest is the presence of numerous arcades, for example the 1920s Star Court Arcade, which includes the 1921 Star Court Theatre, which allow shoppers to continue to shop in comfort in the presence of subtropical downpours as well as extremes of heat or cold.

Many homes in the city are built in the "high set" style otherwise common to much of Queensland (refer accompanying photographs) with living accommodation on the first floor leaving the ground floor unenclosed by structural walls and open to cooling breezes beneath the floorboards in the summer. With the advent of air conditioning in more recent years, such understories have frequently been walled in retrospectively and used for other purposes such as garages, play areas (rumpus rooms) or additional accommodation; in commercial areas they may also be adapted for shop fronts at street/pedestrian level. Most houses also feature covered verandahs wrapping around part or all of the house, to provide both shade from hot sun as needed, and an outdoor area protected from the elements for activities during wet weather.

The city encompasses a range of parks and gardens, some bordering the river, as well as Rotary Park, a patch of regenerated rainforest close to the centre of the city, and a 27 ha remnant of the "Big Scrub" in the form of the Wilson Nature Reserve (see below).

Heritage and other listings

Lismore has three sites listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register (for images see "Gallery"), namely:
 * Colemans Bridge over Leycester Creek
 * Lismore railway station group
 * Lismore railway underbridges

An additional c. 42 items are listed by the local council on Local Environmental Plans under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979, including:
 * The 1883 classical revival Court House, Zadoc Street
 * The Commonwealth Bank building, Molesworth Street
 * Dalley Street Conservation Area
 * The former Government Savings Bank, Woodlark Street
 * Lismore Fire Station, Molesworth Street
 * Memorial Baths, Molesworth Street
 * The 1898 Post and Telegraph Office building

A full listing of heritage sites in Lismore can be generated via a search for suburb/town = "Lismore" via the New South Wales Heritage Database.

Rainforest
Lismore and surrounding towns were once part of the rainforest referred to as the "Big Scrub", of which less than one percent remains following British settlement. A section of this rainforest is viewable in the grounds of the Southern Cross University and at Wilsons Nature Reserve on Wyrallah Road.

Geography
Lismore is located on the Bruxner Highway and it lies at the confluence of the Wilsons River (a tributary of the Richmond River) and Leycester Creek, The state capital city of Sydney is located 764 km to the south by highway. Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, is 200 km to the north.

Lismore's central business district is located 35 km from the eastern coast, and 46 km southwest of Byron Bay. The coastal town of Ballina is 36 km away. There are a number of rainforest patches in the area, remnants of the Big Scrub. These are preserved today, with a small pocket known as Boatharbour Reserve just east of town on the Bangalow road. The nearest large and publicly accessible national park is Nightcap National Park.

General characteristics
Lismore experiences a humid subtropical climate with mild to warm temperatures all year round and ample rainfall, with a long term yearly average of 1,343 mm. Temperatures in summer range between 20 C and 35 C. The subtropical climate combined with geographical features means the urban area is unusually humid when compared with surrounding areas. Humidity levels often reach 100% in summer. Lismore has 109.6 clear days annually.

Floods
Although no other major environmental hazards generally affect the area, Lismore is renowned for frequent floods. Prior to the 2022 event which reached an unprecedented 14.4 m, the worst such floods were in 1954 and 1974, when waters rose to a height of 12.1 m, with a number of others recorded as exceeding the stated height of the levee wall protection at 10.7 m.

In 1999 a government-funded scheme to protect the CBD and South Lismore from a 1-in-10-year flood event was approved. This proposal would mean that most of the smaller floods would not enter the central area of Lismore and substantially improve the time available for the evacuation of residents and the business community in larger floods. Nonetheless, around 3000 residents of Lismore were evacuated after floods affected much of the area on 30 June 2005, many being temporarily housed on the campus of Southern Cross University. However, the new levee that had been completed two weeks prior limited damage and stopped the water reaching the Central Business District.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie in March 2017, Lismore was again badly affected by flooding of up to 3.5 m through all CBD businesses. Wilsons River reached 11.6 m and the levee was overtopped for the first time since its completion. A modelled projection of the maximum flood extent, plus an animation, of this flood event as affecting Lismore is available on the "BigData Earth" Company website.

A budget of $8.2 million for additional flood mitigation works was announced in November 2018.

In February 2022, Lismore and other parts of Northern New South Wales and South East Queensland were flooded to an unprecedented degree, resulting in serious devastation to many buildings in the CBD in addition to adjacent low lying residential areas which will take "years to rebuild". The Wilsons River in Lismore reached 14.37 metres at its peak, the largest flood since modern records began. One year on from the disaster, the process of reconstruction was still ongoing.

A summary of Lismore flood events from 1870 to 2022 is available here.

Drought and water security
A high degree of year-to-year variation in rainfall is typical of the Northern Rivers region. Periods of reduced rainfall are often associated with El Niño events and increased rainfall with La Niña events. For example, the region experienced a significant reduction in rainfall between late 2002 and mid-2003 and again in 2007 in association with persistent and recurrent El Niño events. In common with other areas in Australia, the Lismore region can experience drought but in general, the Northern Rivers region is less drought prone than many of its neighbours, especially those west of the Great Dividing Range (see example map for the drought-affected month of September 2019 here). The municipal water supply is provided by Rous County Council via Rocky Creek Dam, which is situated in a high rainfall area within the Whian Whian State Conservation Area approximately 20 km north of the city, and can be supplemented by drawing additional water from the Wilsons River when required. According to data in the Drought Management Plan adopted by the Council in 2016, level 1 water restrictions for the whole supply region (which stretches from Woodburn in the south to Ocean Shores in the north, as well as westwards to Lismore) would be triggered if the level in Rocky Creek Dram falls to 60%, level 2 restrictions at 45% of capacity, and so on. From 2002 up to late 2019, only one period of severe water restrictions was recorded (reaching level 5 in March 2003) with one other period of lesser severity (level 1 restrictions) during the second half of 2007.

Other severe weather events
Lismore is often hit by severe storms in spring and summer. For example, there was a severe hailstorm on 9 October 2007. A tornado is an extreme rarity, but later that same month one struck nearby Dunoon. It was captured on video as it hit an electrical transformer station there.

Quantifying natural hazard risks
In a 2016 report prepared for Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the consulting company SGS Economics and Planning rated and mapped different Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Australia against a range of natural hazard risks, namely Tropical Cyclone, Storm, Bushfire, Earthquake and Flood. On a 0-5 scale where 0 = no exposure, 5 = extreme risk, the region which includes Lismore rated 1 for Earthquake, 2 for Storm and Bushfire, 3 for Tropical Cyclone and 4 for Flood risk (SGS report, Figures 1, 3, 5, 6, 8).

Demographics
At the, there were 28,816 people in built-up Lismore. The population reached a recent peak of 29,320 at June 2012 and since has experienced a gradual decline to 28,816 in 2021. The population of central Lismore in 2021 was 3,656.
 * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.1% of the population.
 * 83.5% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 2.1%, New Zealand 1.1%, Philippines 0.6%, India 0.5% and Germany 0.4%.
 * 87.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian at 0.5%.
 * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.8%, Catholic 19.4% and Anglican 11.8%.

Media
The Northern Star is an online tabloid newspaper based in Lismore. It covers the region from Lismore, Casino, Ballina, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah, and Tweed Heads, and, like many other regional Australian newspapers owned by NewsCorp, the newspaper ceased print editions in June 2020 and became an online-only publication. The Northern Rivers Echo is a free weekly community newspaper for Lismore, Alstonville, Wollongbar, Ballina, Casino, Nimbin and Evans Head. The Lismore CBD Magazine is a monthly e-magazine publication.

The commercial radio stations of Lismore are Triple Z (Hit Music) and 2LM 900 AM (also broadcast on 104.3FM). Both are run by Broadcast Operations Group. The community radio station is River FM 92.9 which offers an independent alternative media voice playing a diverse range of music. Other radio stations are JJJ 96.1 FM, Radio National 96.9 FM, Classic FM 95.3 and ABC North Coast 94.5 FM.

All major television network channels are available in Lismore and in the general Northern Rivers region. The networks and the channels they currently broadcast are listed as follows: Subscription television services are provided by Foxtel.
 * Seven (formerly Prime7), 7two, 7mate, 7Bravo, 7flix – Seven Network owned and operated channels.
 * Nine Network (NBN), 9Go!, 9Gem, 9Life, Extra – Nine Network owned and operated channels.
 * 10, 10 Peach, 10 Bold (NRN, owned by WIN Corporation) – Network 10 affiliated channels.
 * ABC Television, ABC TV, ABC TV Plus, ABC Me, ABC News – part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation National Network.
 * SBS Television, SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS Food, NITV, SBS World Movies, SBS WorldWatch – Special Broadcasting Service National Network.
 * Digital radio channels are also broadcast on the ABC Television and SBS Television networks.

Business
The Norco Co-operative has its headquarters in Lismore. The main campus of Southern Cross University is in Lismore.

Education

 * Southern Cross University has its home campus located in Lismore, offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in disciplines including business and law, tourism, humanities and social sciences, creative and performing arts, education, environment, marine and forest sciences, engineering, health and human sciences, law and Indigenous studies. The university was established in 1994 and has campuses at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and Gold Coast, Queensland. The university has students from more than 80 countries around the world.

Lismore and the surrounding area is home to a number of public and private schools, including:
 * Albert Park Public School
 * Blue Hills College
 * Kadina High Campus
 * Lismore High Campus
 * Lismore Public School
 * Lismore South Public School
 * Living School Lismore
 * Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Primary School
 * Richmond River High Campus
 * St Carthage's Catholic Primary School
 * St John's College, Woodlawn
 * Summerland Christian College
 * Trinity Catholic College, Lismore
 * Vistara Primary School

Sport and recreation
Lismore has two rugby league clubs competing in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League Competition:
 * Lismore Marist Brothers Rams
 * Northern United Dirrawongs

Lismore Marist Brothers Rams won the prestigious Clayton Cup in 1987, as the premier local rugby league team in Country New South Wales Competitions with a 17–1 record across the season.

Lismore is a strong-hold of association football, with six clubs affiliated with Football Far North Coast being located in Lismore and near surrounds:

 * South Lismore – formed in 1943
 * Lismore Workers – formed as Eastwood in 1949
 * Lismore Thistles – formed in 1958
 * Richmond Rovers – formed in 1961
 * Italo Stars – formed in 1966
 * Goonellabah – formed in June 1969

The Albert Park complex is home to the Far North Coast Baseball Association and Lismore is considered one of the strongest centres for Baseball in Australia.

The Lismore Swans founded in 1983 represent Lismore in Australian rules football and competes in the AFL North Coast competition.

Lismore Speedway is a Speedway located at the Lismore Showgrounds. The track regularly hosts National and State titles and featured national events.

Sister cities
Lismore formed a sister city relationship with the Japanese city of Yamatotakada in Nara Prefecture in 1963. The first such relationship established between Australia and Japan, it was initiated by Lismore-born Marist priest and writer Paul Glynn. Lismore is also a sister city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA and Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland.

Leaders

 * Member of NSW State Parliament for Lismore: Janelle Saffin MP (Labor)
 * Mayor of the City of Lismore: Steve Krieg (Independent)
 * Deputy Mayor of the City of Lismore, Jeri Hall (Independent)

Notable people
Notable people from or who have lived in Lismore include:

 * Peter Arnison – Major General, Land Commander Australia 1994–1996, Governor of Queensland 1997–2003
 * Julian Assange – WikiLeaks founder, once lived in Lismore
 * Andrew Barr – the 7th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, was born in Lismore in 1973
 * Lisa Casagrande – a footballer who played 64 internationals for the Matildas from 1994 to 2000.
 * Ron Casey – Sydney based radio and television personality
 * Con Colleano – a tightrope walker, was born in Lismore in 1899
 * Harold Warnock Cottee – a co-founder of Cottee's drinks
 * Bob Ellis – a writer, journalist, filmmaker and political commentator, was born in Lismore in 1942
 * Craig Foster – former Socceroo, human rights advocate, was born in Lismore in 1969
 * Paul Foster was born in Lismore in 1967.
 * Peter Gahan – an Australian baseball player and the only FNCBA player to have their Australian player number retired.
 * Adam Gilchrist – a cricketer, lived in Lismore from the age of 13
 * Paul Glynn – a Marist missionary priest and writer, was born in Lismore in 1928
 * Terry Greedy – a Socceroo goalkeeper was born in Lismore
 * Grinspoon – a pop/rock band, originated in Lismore
 * Nicholas Hamilton – an actor mostly known for his role as Henry Bowers in It
 * Lurline Hook – gold medallist diver at the 1938 British Empire Games
 * Martin Kennedy – rugby league player
 * Brian Kelly – rugby league player
 * Alofiana Khan-Pereira – rugby league player
 * Andrew King – rugby league player
 * Chris King – rugby league player
 * John McIntosh – Australian politician, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
 * David Mead – a National Rugby League player
 * Adrian Meagher – an Olympic baseball player
 * Bruce Mitchell – an Oxford scholar of Old English, was born in Lismore in 1920
 * Maia Mitchell – an actress best known for her role as Callie Adams Foster on The Fosters and Good Trouble
 * Margaret Olley – an Australian artist, was born in Lismore
 * Nigel Roy – rugby league footballer, was born in Lismore in 1974
 * Tony Smith – a rugby league coach
 * James Strong – a former CEO of Qantas
 * Emma Tom – a writer, journalist and media commentator
 * Edwin Wilson – poet and painter, born Lismore 1942

title: Lismore, New South Wales


text:
Peter Beattie

Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007.

Beattie was born in Sydney but grew up in Atherton, Queensland. He worked as a lawyer, union secretary and ALP State Secretary before entering politics. Beattie was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1989 state election. He served as a Health Minister from 1995 to 1996 under Wayne Goss, and then replaced Goss as party leader following a change in government. As leader of the opposition, Beattie led the Labor Party back to power at the 1998 election, and won further victories at the 2001, 2004 and 2006 elections. He retired in 2007 and was succeeded by his deputy Anna Bligh.

After retiring as Premier, Beattie was appointed to a series of corporate government and academic boards and held numerous academic roles. He made an unsuccessful attempt to enter federal politics at the 2013 election, standing in the Division of Forde. In 2016, Beattie was made chairman of the organising committee for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. He was appointed a Commissioner of the Australian Rugby League Commission in July, 2017 and Chair in February 2018 and Deputy Chair of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) in November, 2018. Beattie joined the board of the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund in July 2010 and became Chair in July 2019.

Early life
Beattie was born in Sydney as the youngest of seven children. Following the death of his mother when he was four years old, he was raised by his grandmother at Atherton, a small town in North Queensland, and attended Atherton State High School where he was both Dux and School Captain. He moved to Brisbane to attend the University of Queensland after winning a Commonwealth Scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Laws degree. He was President of the Student Club at St John's College. He completed a Master of Arts degree from Queensland University of Technology, and then began practising as a lawyer.

Prior to his election to parliament, Beattie was a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and secretary of the Railway Station Officers' Union.

Pre-parliamentary career
In 1974, he joined the Australian Labor Party, which had been in opposition for 17 years and had just suffered the worst defeat in its history at the hands of the dominant National Party Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

In the 1980 federal election, Beattie was the Labor candidate for the federal Division of Ryan and was defeated by the Liberal incumbent John Moore, but achieving a 3 per cent two-party preferred swing in the process. He only nominated for Ryan to give him the right to appeal to the National Executive of the ALP from a six-month suspension from the Queensland ALP for criticising the state parliamentary party for incompetence.

Beattie started a Reform Group within the ALP led by Dr Denis Murphy and himself to reform the Queensland branch of the party, which was dominated by elderly and conservative trade union leaders. In 1981 the federal Labor Party leader, Bill Hayden (himself a Queenslander), led a federal intervention in Queensland, and Beattie became Queensland State Secretary. Eight years later these reforms paved the way for the election of Wayne Goss when he became Queensland's first Labor Premier since Vince Gair in 1957.

Early parliamentary career (1989-1996)
At the 1989 election Beattie was elected to the Queensland Parliament as MP for Brisbane Central. Something of a maverick within the parliamentary party during his early term, Beattie was opposed by old guard faction leaders and kept out of the ministry for his role as Parliamentary Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. His main post was as chairman of the parliamentary committee overseeing the Criminal Justice Commission (now the Crime and Corruption Commission), a role in which he frequently took an independent stand against improper behaviour by supporting the CJC Commissioner Sir Max Bingham against the Goss government, earning Goss's ire. Beattie also publicly criticised Goss for being out of touch. As a result, Goss did not appoint him to the ministry until Labor's near defeat at the 1995 election, where Beattie became Minister for Health. He was only in office for six months before the Goss government lost office following defeat in the Mundingburra by-election.

Goss then stood down as ALP leader, and Beattie was elected in his stead unopposed, thus becoming Opposition Leader. His first act as Opposition leader was a tactical one, moving a motion in Parliament preventing the new Coalition government under Rob Borbidge from calling an early election. Labor was unpopular at the time and feared that an early election could give the Coalition an outright majority. The motion carried.

Premier (1998-2007)
At the 1998 state election, Labor won 44 seats out of 89, and was only denied a majority when One Nation won six seats that otherwise would have gone to Labor if not for leakage of Coalition preferences. The balance of power rested with two independents, Peter Wellington and Liz Cunningham, and the 11 One Nation MPs. Labor needed the support of only one crossbencher to make Beattie premier, while the Coalition needed them all for Borbidge to stay in office. After negotiations with Beattie, Wellington announced his support for Labor, allowing Beattie to form a minority government. Beattie said the ALP would govern as if it had a majority of ten.

A few months later, Charles Rappolt, the One Nation member for Mulgrave, abruptly resigned. Labor's Warren Pitt, who had held the seat from 1989 to 1995, won the ensuing by-election, giving Beattie a majority in his own right. Pitt would have retaken his old seat a few months earlier, if not for Coalition preferences leaking to Rappolt.

Shortly before the 2001 election, he faced a crisis when a CJC inquiry - the Shepherdson inquiry - revealed that a number of MPs and party activists, including Deputy Premier Jim Elder, had been engaged in breaches of the Electoral Act by falsely enrolling people to boost their faction's strength in internal party ballots. Former ALP state secretary and newly elected MP Mike Kaiser, as well as a senior adviser to Wayne Goss had been falsely enrolled some years earlier as part of a factional battle. Beattie acted swiftly, forcing a number of MPs to quit politics and to leave the ALP. In the ensuing campaign, Beattie claimed a Labor win would ensure stable government. He argued the only alternative was a Coalition government propped up by One Nation and former One Nation MPs—an argument that gained particular resonance when Borbidge's own party room reneged on Borbidge's promise not to preference One Nation. Beattie was rewarded with a smashing victory, winning 66 seats out of 89—the biggest majority Labor has ever won in an election. It also took all but one seat in Brisbane. The Liberal Party ended up with only three seats in parliament.

Beattie's key agenda was to transform Queensland into Australia's "Smart State" by restructuring the economy and reforming the education system, skilling the workforce and encouraging innovation, research and development and high tech biotechnology, information technology and aviation industries to locate in Queensland including Virgin airlines. In 2003, the Premier was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from the University of Queensland "in recognition of his leadership and commitment to higher education through Smart State initiatives and his support for research in the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology".

2004 state election
Beattie's government drove an innovation agenda in new industries which reduced Queensland's unemployment level below its target of 5%. In February 2004 Beattie again went to the polls but a crisis blew up shortly before the election, with a highly critical report on the state of Queensland's system of child protection. Beattie accepted full personal responsibility for the issue, and paradoxically turned the issue into a positive for the government. At the 7 February elections Beattie won 63 seats, a net loss of only three, losing four seats to the National-Liberal Opposition but gaining one from them. This made him one of the most successful state politicians in Australian history.

2005 and 2006 Queensland Health crisis
Having delivered on his Smart State Strategy, the Beattie government was riding high in public support. However, in the latter part of 2005, Beattie faced potentially his most serious political crisis: the revelations and inquiries into Queensland Health and the Bundaberg public hospital after Jayant Patel, an Indian-born surgeon who performed several botched operations, some of which resulted in death, fled the country to the United States, where he had previously been struck off the register. As was his style, Beattie faced the crisis head on. Amid the controversy and evidence at an Inquiry established by the Beattie government, the health minister Gordon Nuttall resigned his portfolio, the Speaker, Ray Hollis, resigned after controversy associated with his use of Parliamentary expenditure, and the Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Terry Mackenroth, retired, forcing by-elections in the safe Labor seats of Redcliffe and Chatsworth on 20 August. Labor suffered major swings against it and both seats were lost to the Liberal Party, the first serious electoral setback for Beattie since becoming Premier.

Following the retirement of the Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr in 2005, Beattie became the longest-serving state Premier among his contemporaries.

2006 state election
Beattie went on to win the September 2006 election convincingly in a third landslide, with a slight swing towards the ALP in terms of its primary vote, and two party preferred result. The Government even won back the two seats of Redcliffe and Chatsworth it had lost in the recent by elections. Coalition Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg stepped down. Before the election Liberal Leader Bob Quinn was forced by his party colleagues to step down a fortnight before polling day. The campaign of Quinn's replacement Dr Bruce Flegg was characterized by inexperience and indecisiveness and lacked an organised, professional approach. Premier Beattie therefore was never challenged by the opposition and was able to secure a fourth consecutive term in office with another landslide victory. This result puts Beattie in the realm of iconic political figures. He is the only state Labor leader since Neville Wran, NSW Labor Premier from 1976 to 1986, to do so and is Queensland's fourth longest serving Premier after Labor's William Forgan Smith (1932–1942), the Country Party's Frank Nicklin (1957–1968) and National Party Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen (1968–1987).

Retirement
Beattie announced on 10 September 2007 his decision to retire from politics. His resignation as Premier officially took effect on 13 September 2007. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving state premier in the country. Beattie had groomed his deputy Anna Bligh to be his successor for some time and the Labor caucus elected Anna Bligh as its leader on 12 September. In 2009, Anna Bligh led her party to a state election victory, thereby becoming the first Australian female to be popularly elected as state premier in Queensland.

He officially stood down as the Member for Brisbane Central on 14 September 2007. Beattie then served as Queensland's Trade Commissioner to North and South America based in Los Angeles, a position he was appointed to by Anna Bligh in March 2008.

In late May 2010 Beattie announced that he was retiring from his position as Queensland's Los Angeles-based trade and investment commissioner. to take up an appointment in the US. In June 2010 it was announced that he had accepted a position with Clemson University in South Carolina. On 24 August 2011, the Gillard government appointed Beattie as Australia's first Resources Sector Supplier Envoy charged with promoting a Buy Australian at Home and Abroad program for supplying products to the Australian resources industry.

Federal politics
Beattie's popularity often led to speculation that he would enter national politics, particularly after federal Labor's defeat at the 2001 federal election. But Beattie resisted such suggestions, saying that he loved Queensland too much to leave, and anyway Canberra was "too cold". On announcing his retirement he again ruled out a move to federal politics, saying that he would, politically speaking, disappear.

However, in August 2013, Beattie announced his intention to run in the 2013 federal election in the Queensland federal seat of Forde following an approach by Prime Minister Rudd to Beattie who was then living in New York. The ALP was in electoral trouble and Beattie was convinced to run to save Queensland seats. Following the ALP's disastrous national campaign, Beattie was defeated by incumbent Liberal National Party MP Bert van Manen.

Media involvement
Beattie's description by Liberal Leader Dr David Watson as a "media tart" as well as his political successes have led to a love-hate relationship with The Courier-Mail, Brisbane's daily newspaper. Columnist Peter Wear, for example, ran a long-running satire on Queensland politics in general with the major role played by "President for Life Mbeattie".

The controversy over the performance of the government-owned electricity supplier Energex during the severe 2003-2004 storm season in South East Queensland resulted in the characterisation of Beattie as "Power Point Pete" by Courier-Mail cartoonist Sean Leahy, with the location of the drawing's eyes and nose designed to replicate the holes of a power point.

In August 2007 the Beattie government proposed to reduce the number of councils from 154 to 72, which would result in the merger of a number of regional and extra-metropolitan councils into larger Regional Councils. This proved particularly unpopular in the affected Councils as several hundred local politicians lost their positions.

Autobiography
In May 2005 Beattie released his autobiography Making A Difference, in which he described his upbringing, political life and his views on key issues, including health, education and social reform. The book is part memoir, part manifesto. Beattie says that the reason he released the book while he is in office, rather than when he is retired, is because no-one would want to read about him if he was not in the public arena. It was Beattie's third book after his autobiographical piece In the Arena (1990) and the thriller The Year of the Dangerous Ones. Beattie wrote a fourth book "Where to from here Australia?" published in 2016.

Personal collection
Peter Beattie donated his personal collection of records to the State Library of Queensland's John Oxley Library. The papers cover the years between 1955 and 2010 and include photographs, correspondence, diaries, political ephemera, speeches, clippings and other material relating to his time as a solicitor and politician. In 2019 the State Library produced a digital story with Peter Beattie. The interview by Peter Shooter covers the events leading up to the reform of the Queensland Labor Party, and focuses on those events which have contributed most significantly to Queensland's historical record and on Peter Beattie's achievements in government.

Political commentator
Beattie joined Sky News Live as a commentator across multiple programs in February 2015. Beattie began co-hosting his own TV program with Peter Reith in April 2016 which continued with former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman in 2017 until May, 2018 when Beattie retired from Sky News to focus on his position of Chair of the ARLC. Beattie was a regular political election commentator on Channels 9 and 7 from 2007 to 2015 and a regular Columnists for The Australian Newspaper from 2010 to 2015.

Sporting interests
In May 2016, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk appointed Beattie chairman of the challenged Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation, the organising committee for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It was criticised by the Queensland Opposition as a political appointment but well received by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Games were highly successful and regarded as the best games ever, however, organisers received criticism after broadcasters failed to show footage of the athletes entering the stadium for the closing ceremony, broadcasting "My Kitchen Rules" instead. To avoid any blame games Beattie accepted responsibility, publicly apologised and described it as "clearly a stuff-up".

Beattie was appointed to the board of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) on 25 July 2017, as an independent commissioner. In February 2018, he was appointed chairman of the commission in place of John Grant. He is a supporter of reforming the organisation's constitution to give National Rugby League (NRL) teams and state organisations direct representation on the board. As Chair of the ARLC, Beattie brought in major reforms including a new "No Fault" stand down rule for players charged with serious offences and ended the battles between the ARLC and the Clubs. He is also a strong supporter of the Magic Round pioneered in Brisbane in May, 2019 and expanding Women's rugby league and rugby league in PNG, Fiji and the Pacific Nations.

Honours
On 1 January 2001, Beattie was awarded the Centenary Medal for his contribution to Queensland. On 11 June 2012, Beattie was named a Companion of the Order of Australia for "eminent service to the Parliament and community of Queensland, through initiatives in the area of education and training, economic development, particularly in biotechnology, information technology and aviation industries, and to the promotion of international trade.". Beattie has been awarded five honorary doctorates, from The University of Queensland, Griffith University, QUT, Bond University and in the US an honorary Doctor of Laws from University of South Carolina. Beattie won the first Biotechnology Industry Organisation's inaugural "International Award for Leadership Excellence" in 2008.

Personal life
Peter is married to Heather Beattie, a former professor of nursing. She was briefly involved in Brisbane City Council politics in her own capacity in 2012. The Beatties have three adult children. Peter is an Anglican, and his wife is the daughter of an Anglican clergyman.

title: Peter Beattie


text:
Talk:Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)

Impartiality convention
Now the dust has settled since last year's arguments about Bercow's admission he voted Remain in the EU referendum and the comments he made about President Trump and immigration I think it might be worth re-visiting this issue. The Speaker's impartiality, like most of the British constitution, is simply done by conventions and conventions change. Those interested can read more about the arguments here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38947257

Some do claim Bercow hasn't broken the convention because, despite making political statements, he behaved fairly in who was called to speak in debates. This strikes me as a new nuance to the traditional convention - Speakers normally don't comment about politics at all - and perhaps needs addressing but I am finding it very hard to find neutral good sources on this. By nature most of those commenting were politicians with an axe to grind; those who supported him claimed he had done no wrong, those against him claimed he had totally broken the convention. I am unable to find much serious discussion by historians or scholars of the constitution on this issue which seems quite strange - maybe someone else will have more luck. Clearly something has changed and, as he has been able to keep his position, a new convention of some sort has come into existence in that gradual way it works in the British constitution. The next Speaker, for example, will be able to voice political opinions and keep his position, one assumes. If anyone says he has done wrong he will point to the precedent set by Bercow - that's how it works in Britain's constitution (in areas not specifically legislated for). So Wikipedia needs to record this change but I am struggling to source it.

Quick Question
I heard somewhere (I believe it was one of those "did you know?" websites) that the Speaker of the House of Commons can't speak. Is that what's meant by his not being able to partake in debate? Impaciente 05:05, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
 * He (or she) most definately is allowed to speak, indeed he probably speaks more than any other member, however what he is allowed to say is limited to calling upon members to speak, calling for order, disciplining members etc etc. He can not voice his own opinions and participate in debate, so in that sense he "can not speak" but it is not a very accurate summation of his role, probably just used to make the fact more interesting Mr Weeble  Talk Brit tv 13:56, 12 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Thank you much. The whole thing seemed bizarre at first glance, and I was right. Impaciente 01:19, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

 * It is worth recalling that s/he is called 'speaker' because the office was first conceived in order to allow one MP to speak to the House of Lords or the king and his ministers as the accredited voice of the Commons' opinion as a whole, and not just voicing his/her own opinion. Reciprocally, the 'speaker' was granted by the Crown protection against recrimination for what s/he said, because it was to be understood that they were, by obligation of their office, representing without any personal bias the views of the whole house. (Hence, too, the traditional display of reluctance by the person newly elected to the office.) It followed that the person who was to speak for the house at the end of its deliberations should not argue his/her individual opinion in the course of debate. However, there should not be an assumption that 'parliament' is only what happens within the chamber. The scope and work of parliament and of individual members encompass a whole range of activities within the physical and conceptual 'houses of parliament', and the speaker is able, and expected, to play an active part in the work where appropriate, albeit with careful discretion that nothing should compromise his ultimate role to represent the decision of the whole House of Commons. December 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Medievalduck (talk • contribs) 17:43, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Division
One considers dividing the page, creating one for the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, and another for the British House of Commons. Is there concurrence? Lord Emsworth 13:49, Nov 16, 2003 (UTC)

 * Done. Morwen 14:14, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * But there is a slight problem now. The article for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom is entitled "British House of Commons." Would it not be more consistent to title this page "Speaker of the British House of Commons"? If there is no objection, I shall move the page. Lord Emsworth 14:35, Nov 16, 2003 (UTC)
 * It is the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, for what that's worth. Mark Richards 19:53, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Opposition
Redcently added to the article:
 * Until recently there existed an unwritten convention that the two largest parties would take turns to have one of their members elected Speaker, irrespective of which party might enjoy a majority in the House at the time of the occurence of a vacany. It was under this rule that Betty Boothroyd, a member of the Labour Party, was elected Speaker in 1992, despite the fact that there was then a Conservative Party majority. However Labour MPs decided to disregard this convention, in 2000, when appointing Boothroyd's successor. Labour MPs used their majority to elect Michael Martin: another Labour Party member.'

I could be completely wrong but I had heard somewhere that Boothroyd was the first speaker from an opposition party for more than a century. If thats true than that would contradict the previous statement. Anybody know? Saul Taylor 11:13, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

There is an article on the BBC that says about Martin's election: "His election breaks convention as its saw Labour retain the speakership for a second time" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/986496.stm ). It doesnt say just what that convention is tho.

Also another article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/27/newsid_2502000/2502597.stm ) says about Boothroyd's election "It is the first time since World War II that a member of the opposition party has held the job". So a century is a bit long. Does anyone know anything _definitive_  about this? Iota (Mar 25)

That is distinctly wrong, in any event. She is the first speaker to be appointed by the opposition party. Many speakers have served during times when their party was in opposition. john 01:33, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

In any event I'm not sure about this bit:

''Until recently there existed an unwritten convention that the two largest parties would take turns to have one of their members elected Speaker, irrespective of which party might enjoy a majority in the House at the time of the occurence of a vacany. It was under this rule that Betty Boothroyd, a member of the Labour Party, was elected Speaker in 1992, despite the fact that there was then a Conservative Party majority. However Labour MPs decided to disregard this convention, in 2000, when appointing Boothroyd's successor. Labour MPs used their majority to elect Michael Martin: another Labour Party member.''

At the time I recall some people asserting this but others, including Paddy Ashdown, pointing out that the Speakership hasn't rotated like that in the past. And in 1992 the Conservative Bernard Weartherill was expected to be succeeded by another Conservative, Peter Brooke, indicating that this "convention" hasn't actually been around very long. Timrollpickering 15:40, 7 May 2004 (UTC)

If you look at the years you'll see that since 1965, it has, in fact, rotated. But this seems to be because alternating parties were in power when it came time to elect a new speaker. The Conservatives then made the idea of alternating quasi-legitimate by appointing Boothroyd. I agree the paragraph should probably be removed. john 16:31, 7 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Hmm - According to Boothroyd's memoirs, the Conservative frontbench actually wanted to elect another Conservative, but due to a strong campaign and even because some new MPs did not know how the House works (this was the first vote after the election), Boothroyd came through - but it certainly wasn't a plan at all. Timrollpickering 17:10, 7 May 2004 (UTC)

I have edited the sentence that now ends "breaking a pattern of alternation between Labour and Conservative members which some claim had been established as a constitutional convention." It previously said that this practice dated back to the second world war. This is untru. The first Labour Speaker was elected in 1965 according to the "List of Speakers of the British House of Commons" page. Akashpaun1 November 2006

Speakers who were former Conservatives were opposed by Labour when they sought re-election to the Commons (Selwyn Lloyd twice in 1974 and Weatherill in 1987). Agingjb (talk) 07:53, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Reginald Bray
This article lists Reginald Bray as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1496, yet List of Parliaments of England shows no parliament nor speaker in that year. Which is correct? —Stormie 08:06, Oct 30, 2004 (UTC)
 * Bray does not appear to have been Speaker. So I have removed him. Mintguy (T)

Quite right. There was a Great Council called for 24 October 1496, and the king named Bray as Speaker or President of it (Wedgwood). The confusion has arisen from there? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Medievalduck (talk • contribs) 07:48, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Voting/Representation (clarification)
I've had a naive question about the UK speaker for a long time: given that the speaker does not 'speak' for himself, or vote (unless a tie demands it), is it not the case that his constituents are under-represented in the Commons? If my MP became speaker tomorrow I'd have no-one to speak for my constiuency. Are these problems irresolvible? Adambisset 21:49, 17 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Well it could be mentioned in the article, the speaker can still read consituancy letters etc but they cannot raise matters in the house due to impartiality (that they could have raised if they were just an MP) Usually the nearest MP of their 'former' party to the speakers consituancy does that for them Alci12 18:15, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

 * Very few constituency letters or constituents' individual letters are raised in the chamber itself by any MP save to bolster a debating point or if the matter attracts some public controversy. They are dealt with directly through the appropriate ministry or referred to the right conduit, such as local government or local councillor. The Speaker can prosecute individual cases from his constituency in this way, although, as said above, often a neighbouring MP will take over the case to preserve the speaker's impartiality. December 2008

Short speech: not less than eight minutes?
"Furthermore, before debate begins, the Speaker may invoke the "Short Speech" rule, under which he or she may set a time limit of not less than eight minutes per speech."

Surely this should be "not more than eight minutes", or "less than eight minutes"? Or am I just muddled?

--Telsa 12:56, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

As I read it, it means that the limit must be at least eight minutes. The Speaker could, theoretically, set a limit of 30 minutes per speech.

-FunnyMan 05:04, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Non-commercial use image
Anyone else noticed that we have a "non-commercial use" image on the front page? If you follow the link from the big warning message on its image page, it basically says that Wikipedia does not like that license. Seems a bit two-faced to say that and post the image on the front page anyway.

-FunnyMan 05:09, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Add also?
-QUITTNER142.150.49.166 19:28, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
 * Many people think of "the House" meaning the building; they do not know that a group of legislators are also called a "House".
 * As I remember reading it, the original purpose of the House of Commons was only to provide ways and means to obtain sufficient money from "the common people", with the monarch then still having absolute power. The House of Commons was then more or less in opposition to the monarch and his/her helpers; these were, at that time, the government and it was actually(?) dangerous at one time to be the Speaker of the House of Commons. Compare with the history of the Magna Carta, although apparently the dispute was with the barons, not with the House of Commons(?).

Actually, it is a bit out of date to see 'opposition' between Commons and Crown as the principal medieval base. Both in theory and practice the Commons were seen more as petitioners within the king's court or even plaintiffs, and thus not really there to 'decide' anything, but with some assumed right to give their opinions and pleadings to 'help' the king decide, entirely off his own bat, policies and issues as 'the judge'. Having had their day in court, they were duly bound by the court's decision, and that decision was held to have greater moral force for having listened fairly to those affected. If the king felt like it, they, as a whole or as individuals, could present complaints and report problems: the agenda of any parliament was very much in his hands unless he was in exceptional trouble. The attractive connection with direct taxation (in lieu of personal service)in defence of the realm indeed led to the Commons being summoned pretty well every time a 'parliament' was called from the 1330s, i.e. with the onset of the Hundred Years War, but even then it was long more a case of 'well, there is going to be a tax ('defence of the realm', so obligatory), so you lot can work out the best and least painful way for the folks back home to pay it.' The Commons struggled painfully with this for two centuries, and tried eking out the timescale rather than actually trying to refuse outright. There is even debate amongst historians whether they could actually refuse. They certainly tried to attach conditions. It is wrong to say the medieval monarch was 'absolute': apart from theoretical counter-arguments (sometimes not very consoling or compelling,admittedly), sheer logistics made absolutism very difficult, and although restraint was clumsy and even dangerous, both in theory and reality there was. However, Richard II does seem to have developed a very sound and strong case for absolutism, which his critics found it hard to oppose at law - so he was deposed. In short, he had not got the resources or the 'influential opinion' to sustain his theory. The Tudors revived a great deal of what Richard had proposed and got away with it pretty easily. December 2008

Animated image
Honestly, do we really need an image of Michael Martin with flashing yellow and red "order, order!" at the top of this article? Roger Danger Field seems to be in a minority of one at the moment. -- ALoan (Talk) 15:02, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

 * I think it’s a definite plus for any House of Commons related article, as for reasons stated before. It gets across the job of the speaker very well. Roger Danger Field 15:13, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

 * Sorry - you will have to give me a better clue: stated before where? -- ALoan (Talk) 16:27, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

No list of former holders of the office...why?
How come there's no list of former holders of the office? -- Jalabi99 03:17, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Non-Contested Elections for the Speaker
The Irish Solution to this issue may be of interest. In Dâil Eireann, a speaker Ceann Comhairle is elected by members (TDs) in much the same way as in Westminster. Ireland has Multi-Seat (3, 4 or 5) constituencies and the Ceann Comhairle has the right of automatic return to Dail Eireann upon nomination. The constituency is then contested with one less seat (see the Cavan-Monaghan constituency for the 2007 election). This is included in the Irish Constitution which was developed in the main by Eamon DeValera, Irish political leader and senior officer in the 1916 Easter Rising. Britain is different of course as it has no coherent written constitution and constituencies are single seat. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 89.100.180.27 (talk) 23:09, 7 May 2007 (UTC).

 * British constituencies haven't always been single seat - the last two & three member constituencies were scrapped as recently as 1950. Indeed the idea that a Speaker's constituency should be given an extra member has been mooted in the various discussions on how to handle the situation. But one major principle that seems to be a sticking point is the concept that the Speaker starts the Parliament as an ordinary member and no Parliament can bind its successors' hands, so MPs should retain the right to elect the speaker at the outset of each Parliament. A system that locks a Speaker in place until they feel like going is at odds with this. Timrollpickering (talk) 13:56, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

The article states that "In the past few decades, the Conservatives have not stood against Speakers seeking re-election, regardless of their previous political affiliation. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have stood against ex-Conservative Speakers, but not against ex-Labour ones." Is there a source for this? Doesn't sound right to me. 158.180.192.10 (talk) 13:46, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Both Labour and the then Social Democrats contested Croydon North East against Weatherill in 1987, and Labour and Liberals stood against Selwyn Lloyd in The Wirral in both of the 74 elections. Not sure why they changed. Conservatives won't contest it regardless of their party. Agree it could do with an independent source though. - Chrism would like to hear from you 16:12, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

 * Back in the run-up to the 1935 election the Daventry Constituency Labour Party announced that their party rules (I think it was the national set a CLP has to abide by) bound them to nominate a candidate at all elections - this was the first contest since the bitter 1895 episode. They repeated this announcement in the run-up to the expected 1939/40 election. Since then nearly every election with an ex-Conservative Speaker has been contested by Labour, presumably because of that rule, though the Liberals have been more intermittent.
 * (There was a commission on the issue in about 1939, with the committee made up of many of the big name senior MPs of the day, but it came to the conclusion that the current arrangement was the least worst option available.) Timrollpickering (talk) 10:12, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Former featured article but no references?
Am I missing something really obvious? This is a former featured article but even back then had no references. Now it is marked as lacking sources. Have wiki's policies on featured articles changed? Of course, general knowledge does not need to be referenced, but this hardly applied to much of this article.

David WC2 (talk) 17:29, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

casting vote
Has a speaker ever made a casting vote contrary to Speaker Denison's Rules? BillMasen (talk) 21:31, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

Recent updates
I suppose it's time for a rewrite. I suppose you could put a (resigned), (transition) or (awaiting new appointment) or something next to the status of the current speaker. Gamerunknown (talk) 21:09, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Portcullis and Mace as Speaker's crest
This article currently displays the green portcullis of the House of Commons, implying that this is also used by the Speaker.

However, the Speaker's crest consists of the portcullis with the Mace of the Commons underneath it. Hence, perhaps the image on this page should be changed?

References:

 * "The Portcullis" (House of Commons Factsheet G9), Jan 2009, p4
 * http://www.mplevene.co.uk/staticpage.aspx?spageid=101480
 * http://www.whiskywhiskywhisky.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=11228

Gadget1700 (talk) 18:11, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Further simplification of uniform
Viewing today's Commons business here, it seems that John Bercow has decided to end most of the formal aspects of the uniform. --Hapsala (talk) 13:48, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was move page. Consensus at this time supports a page move to Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom). Peter Symonds ( talk ) 10:20, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Speaker of the British House of Commons → Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom — So as to be consistant with House of Commons of the United Kingdom, which was moved from "British House of Commons" last year, and was kept in a failed move request to the older name later the same year. --84.92.117.93 (talk) 17:23, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

 * I support this move. It would ensure not only consistency between the two articles but greater accuracy. British may often mean "of the United Kingdom", but retains the connotation "of Great Britain", and unlike United Kingdom is not included in the formal title of the House. As far as length is concerned, there is ample precedence, and I do not consider the proposed title cumbersome. The problems only start if we also rename the "Speaker of the British House of Commons election" articles, again for consistency; in this case, "Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom election, 2009" might be considered too long. I wonder whether we might not simply replace British with United Kingdom in the same place (resulting in "Speaker of the United Kingdom House of Commons), along the lines of the United States national and state legislatures. My objection to this version is that it looks more official than it is, but it does give me the idea that we might use this form (or simply the perfectly unofficial UK) for the Speaker election articles. To sum up my proposal: House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Speaker of the UK House of Commons election, [year]. Waltham, The Duke of 20:09, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I would rather the page be at Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) but support the move. -- Barryob  (Contribs)   (Talk)  22:10, 1 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I'd support that as well. (We don't have to make this discussion too restrictive, do we? I like to know that there are alternatives, although the initial proposal naturally retains precedence.) Waltham, The Duke of 23:21, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

 * As nominator, I would be happy to support Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) as another alternative. 84.92.117.93 (talk) 20:55, 2 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Bercow's vote
I looked into this and Bercow's vote of 47% is the lowest for a Speaker for some time, it may well be the lowest ever. Is this worth mentioning? PatGallacher (talk) 18:26, 9 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Is that percentage accurate? Unless I missed something the new rules under which Bercow was elected state that 50% is needed to win (if that is wrong do we need to change the article?). Other than that I don't think it is overly relevant; the low vote could just be a symptom of the new electoral system. Do any reliable sources draw any significant conclusions from the size of the vote? Road Wizard (talk) 19:35, 9 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I was referring to his vote at the recent general election, not the election for Speaker. PatGallacher (talk) 18:53, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Is that really relevant at a general article about the office of Speaker (as opposed to John Bercow)? -Rrius (talk) 18:56, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Main lines or the article
Why not including the 4th 5th and 6th paragraphs under a global title : "Functions of the speaker" ? I will wait for possible different points of view before acting as suggested. Crocy (talk) 11:03, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I boldly moved the 5th and 6th paragraphs together into a "Role" section. The non-partisanship section probably works better on its own as its a quality of the office and its holder so to speak, rather than an actual function. -  Chrism  would like to hear from you 13:46, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom). Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090327021123/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g06.pdf to http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g06.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20050830053825/http://www.parliament.uk:80/documents/upload/g06.pdf to http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g06.pdf

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First Holder?
Why does the box on the right hand side of this page list Thomas Hungerford as first holder of the office of Speaker, while the text in the section History states " The earliest year for which a presiding officer has been identified is 1258, when Peter de Montfort presided over the Parliament held in Oxford." Thomas Hungerford doesn't seem to have been in post till 1377. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.25.109.140 (talk) 20:27, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 15:07, 1 August 2019 (UTC)
 * The Speaker Explains - Keeping Order in the House of Commons.webm

Catholic vs Roman Catholic?
Is there any Wikipedia policy on this (apart from the need for consistency in any given article)? The article says this:
 * "Michael Martin, elected in 2000, was the first Catholic speaker since the Reformation"

but also this:
 * "... he also ranks below the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic archbishops of Ireland, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church."

Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:33, 30 October 2019 (UTC)
 * p.s. both of these claims seem to be unsourced, so I have added the appropriate tags. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:08, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

When he stops being speaker
People jumped the gun a bit with declaring the office "vacant", as confirmed by the Clerks, so I did a bit of research on when he stops officially being Speaker. Standing Order 1 implies that he stops being Speaker when he stops being MP or a new Speaker is selected. I expect at some point on Monday the Treasury will announce that he has been appointed to by either the Steward of the Manor of Northstead or Three Hundreds - at that point he will cease to be MP and Speaker. (He could also it seems according to standing order 1(2) precede over the election of the next speaker, and will stop being speaker when the new speaker is confirmed - but he hasn't given any indication that he will do that and speakership elections have always been preceded by the Father of the House in modern times.) Jedi Master Bra'tac (talk) 09:55, 1 November 2019 (UTC)
 * ..."presided", rather than "preceded".  Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:13, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

Election section
"However, this procedure broke down at the election of a new Speaker in 1971 (see below)"

When you click see below, you read about the 1971 Speaker election, however it has zero mention of the debate and why the silent clerk failed and had to be replaced with a member.

Slywriter (talk) 03:13, 8 August 2021 (UTC)

"Including MP salary"
The MP salary is outdated and in need of update to £84,144 IsaacTW3001 (talk) 14:17, 20 March 2023 (UTC)


text:
Talk:Neapolitan (sex)

I propose to split this permanent stub into vanilla sex, Naples (disambiguation), and Neapolitan ice cream. I think I'll leave this as a redirect to vanilla sex. Martin 13:53, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

A Neopolitan means four way sex with a blond, a brunette, and a red-head, so I think a redirect to vanilla sex is way off base.(misspelled "neopolitan"Rklawton (talk) 15:23, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Neapolitan (sex)