LUKE, Arthur
| Service Number: | 254 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Cheetham, Manchester, England, United Kingdom, 24 March 1882 |
| Home Town: | Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Optometrist |
| Died: | Manly, Brisbane - Queensland, Australia, 17 May 1937, aged 55 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium, Brisbane, Queensland Plot: Monumental. B. 3. 30. |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 254, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 254, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 254, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. |
Help us honour Arthur Luke's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
When Arthur Luke enlisted in 1899 in the 1st QMI and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, he was recorded as Private A. Luke, single, Commercial Road, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 66, it is noted he directed part of his pay to D. Luke, Commercial Road, Valley.
The service paybooks also note that he, like a number of the men, was seconded to the South African Police between 19 Jun 1900 and 27 Oct 1900. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI returning to Brisbane where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901.
Arthur Luke was born at Cheetham, Manchester, England on 24 Mar 1882, a son to David Luke and Mary Luke (nee Davidson). He emigrated with his parents and younger sibling aboard RMS Quetta and they arrived in Brisbane on 24 Aug 1886. He married Mary Alice Bugslag on 19 Aug 1908 in Queensland and they had 4 children.
When he passed in 1937 several obituraies describing his life, associations, and achievements were published in newspapers including the one transcribed below.
Death of Mr. A. Luke: Was Man of Many Parts.- The Telegraph (Brisb), 18 May 1937, p. 18.
Mr. Arthur Luke, who died at his home at Manly yesterday afternoon, filled many parts as a citizen. He was a member of the first Australian contingent to the South African War, chairman of the Wynnum executive of the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade, an Alderman of Wynnum Town Council before Greater Brisbane, an honourary member of the Queensland Skiff Association, secretary and trustee of the Waterloo Bay Skiff Club, a member of the Manly Yatch Club, part owner of the 18ft skiff Meja, also a former chairman of the Manly State school committee, a leading member of the Manly Choral Society, and later the Wynnum District Musical Society, also a former prominent member of the Valley Rugby Union Club, and a past member of the Moreton Masonic Lodge and past patron of the Order of the Eastern Star.
The late Mr. Luke, who was 55, was born at Cheetham, England and came to Queensland in the R.M.S. Quetta, which afterwards was wrecked in the Torres Strait. He practised as an optometrist in Brisbane for many years, gaining the highest pass in the Commonwealth examination for optometrists in 1914. He is survived by his widow and two daughters- Edna and Audrey. The funeral is taking place to the Hemmant cemetery today.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 453; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI Bk 1 p. 66).
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