William Robert Black Explained

William Robert Black (1859–1930) was an Australia mine-owner and philanthropist. He donated to establish many Presbyterian churches and supported schools, orphanages and other charitable institutions in Queensland.^[1]

Biography

On 20 November 1922, the Queensland Governor Matthew Nathan officially opened the Industrial School for Boys on a site between Moggill Road and Jerrang Road (now 724 Moggill Road,) at Indooroopilly (now Chapel Hill). It was operated by the Salvation Army for orphaned, abandoned and neglected boys. The 22acres site was purchased for £2300 by Black and donated to the Salvation Army, He also paid £2700 to extend and renovate the buildings on site and for new furnishings. He also provided for £100 per annum for maintenance. When it opened, there were 35 boys under the supervision of the first superintendent, Ensign Rogan. The school could provide accommodation for 50 boys supervised by nine staff. In 1942 the school relocated to Washpool.^{[2] [3]} As at 2021, the site is still owned by the Salvation Army but is reduced to 53320m2 and is used to operate The Cairns Aged Care Centre.^[4]

Beneficiaries

Black made substantial donations to a number of institutions, including:

Churches

• the Presbyterian Church at Burleigh Heads
• the Presbyterian Church at Cannon Hill^[5]
• the Presbyterian Church at Enoggera^[6]
• the Presbyterian Church in Maleny^[7]
• the War Memorial stained glass window at St Andrew's Presbyterian (now Uniting) Church in the Brisbane CBD^[8]

Education

• Scots PGC College in Warwick^[9]
• Fairholme College in Toowoomba^[10]
• Blackheath College in Charters Towers^{[11] [12]}
• Emmanuel College, University of Queensland

Children's homes

• W. R. Black Children's Home at Chelmer^[13]
• Blackheath Home for Children at Oxley^[14]
• Salvation Army's Industrial School for Boys at Indooroopilly (now Chapel Hill)

Other institutions

• Gold Coast Hospital in Southport^[15]
• Canberra Hotel in the Brisbane CBD, a temperance hotel^[16]

Notes and References

1. News: 9 October 1930. OBITUARY.. 54. The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. National Library of Australia. 25 September 2021.
2. Web site: Industrial School for Boys (1922 - 1942). 26 September 2021. Find and Connect. National Redress Scheme. 6 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200806212616/https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00610b.htm. live.
3. News: 21 November 1922. A PUBLIC BENEFACTOR.. 8. The Brisbane Courier. 20,229. Queensland, Australia. National Library of Australia. 26 September 2021. 25 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210925231234/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/20584929. live.
4. Web site: The Cairns Aged Care Centre at Chapel Hill. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201208041335/https://agedcare.salvos.org.au/residential-aged-care/the-cairns-centre-in-chapel-hill/. 2020-12-08. 2020-12-08. The Salvation Army Australia. en-AU.
5. 20 July 2020.
6. 25 September 2021.
7. Web site: Hunter. Margaret. 2007. Reflections on the Activities of the Maleny Presbyterian Church from 1907 to 2007. 25 September 2021. Maleny Historical Society. 15, 17.
8. Web site: War Memorial Window Heritage & Architecture. 2021-09-25. Saint Andrew's UCA. en. 25 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210925084007/https://www.saintandrews.org.au/heritage-architecture?pgid=kb74kdck-8d8e220a-a9df-11ea-8c85-12879e2400f0. live.
9. Web site: Our history. 2021-09-25. SCOTS PGC College. 27 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211027133518/https://scotspgc.com.au/our-college/our-history/. live.
10. Web site: Fairholme’s College House System: Black, Cameron, Powell & Stephens Houses. 2021-09-25. www.fairholme.qld.edu.au. en.
11. 1 August 2014.
12. Web site: "Remembering Blackheath": Celebrating 100 Years. 2021-09-25. Blackheath and Thornburgh College. en-AU. 25 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210925083602/https://www.btc.qld.edu.au/blog-post/blackheath-celebrating-100-years-in-2020/. live.
13. 9 March 2020.
14. Web site: Blackheath Home for Boys. 2021-09-25. Mapping Brisbane History. en-US. 25 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210925083613/https://mappingbrisbanehistory.com.au/history-location/blackheath-home-for-boys-170/. live.
15. News: 30 September 1921. SOUTHPORT.. 4. The Brisbane Courier. 19,873. 21 May 2016. National Library of Australia.
16. News: 1 August 1927. "THE CANBERRA.". 14. The Brisbane Courier. 21,688. Queensland, Australia. National Library of Australia. 25 September 2021. 22 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191222184341/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/21867400. live.