CORBETT, Arthur Brownlow
| Service Number: | 366 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Sussex, England, United Kingdom, 18 February 1877 |
| Home Town: | Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Accountant, Engineer, Govt. Dept. Director |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 20 March 1970, aged 93 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Toowong (Brisbane General) Cemetery, Queensland Plot: Portion 7A-Section 113-Plot 12/13 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 366, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1901: | Promoted Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 33, notes promoted to Corporal 4 Mar 1901. | |
| 6 Mar 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 366, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 488 notes 5th QIB embarked at Pinkenba 6 Mar 1901 aboard Templemore arriving Port Elizabeth 1 Apr 1901. | |
| 10 Jul 1901: | Promoted Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Sergeant, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 501, notes promoted to Sergeant 10 Jul 1901. | |
| 5 May 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Sergeant, 366, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 491 notes 5th QIB embarked at Cape Town 27 Mar 1902 aboard St Andrew returning to Australia arriving Brisbane 30 Apr 1902, disbanded 5 May 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
His brother Cuthbert Brownlow Corbett S.N. 367 also served in the 5th QIB, Boer War.
When Arthur Brownlow Corbett enlisted in 1901 in the 5th QIB and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 16 Mar 1901, his N.O.K. was noted as G. E. F. Riddett, Brisbane. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 33, it notes that Riddett was a colleague in the Money Order Office at the G.P.O. Brisbane where Arthur was working. The Service Paybooks also note part of his pay was directed to his mother Mrs. Ellen M. Corbett, Kangaroo Point.
Arthur Brownlow Corbett was born on 18 Feb 1877 at New Shoreham, Sussex, England, a son to George Frederick Corbett and Ellen Mary Corbett (nee Kerr). He married Evelyn Mary Byrne on 4 Oct 1905 at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Brisbane, and they had 6 children.
The Airways Museum based in Melbourne is dedicated to the history of the Civil Aviation Department in Australia. They have produced biographies for prominent 'Departmental People' which includes Arthur Brownlow Corbett, with extracted information used in the following presentation. Refer to the link on this profile for the full biography.
Arthur's parents emigrated with their family to Brisbane in 1890, where Arthur completed his schooling in 1899 before joining the Post and Telegraph Department as a clerk. Following his discharge from Boer war service he resumed work at the Postmaster-General's Department, initially in the accounts branch.
In 1913 he joined the Electrical Engineers Branch of the P.M.G. and worked there as an engineer for 20 years demonstrating his affinity with new technologies and machinery used to improve the postal system. Appointed Director of Post and Telegraphs, Qld, in 1933, he was appointed an MBE in 1938.
In 1939 he was appointed Director General of the new Department of Civil Aviation in Melbourne, to lead the reorganisation of the previous Civil Aviation Branch. He retired in 1944 and moved to Montville, Qld, where he established a plantation, and was later involved in the executive to form a state branch of the Liberal Party.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 501; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 33; Airways Museum Melbourne, History of the Civil Aviation Dept., Departmental People Biography: Corbett, see links).
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