Francis Isidore Power: Gympie Pioneer, Solicitor and Community Leader

Francis Isidore Power played a pivotal role in shaping Gympie’s early development as a solicitor, local leader, and Queensland parliamentarian. Born into a pioneering Queensland family, he built a legacy in law, governance, and community service that endures in regional history.

Early Life and Education of Francis Isidore Power

Francis Isidore Power was born in Brisbane on 28 March 1852, the son of Michael and Anna Maria (Connolly) Power, of Gayndah,  He had two two brothers, all of whom made their mark on Queensland. One brother, Virgil Power was the first judge of the Queensland Central District Supreme Court. After their father’s death in 1859 the family moved to Ireland for their education and the boys attended Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare. Francis was 12 years old at the time.

Francis obtained his law degree at Trinity College, Dublin and became a solicitor with a Dublin law firm, but returned to Australia soon after. He moved to Gympie where he established a law practice in 1875, and remained in Gympie until his death on 24 June 1912. Returning to Queensland around 1875, Power settled in Gympie, the booming gold rush town. At age 23, he established his solicitor practice amid the chaos of mining claims, land disputes, and rapid settlement following James Nash’s 1867 gold discovery.

Anna Maria Connolly Power – Francis Power’s Mother

Power’s Legal Career on The Gympie Goldfields

Gympie’s goldfields attracted opportunists, leading to frequent legal battles over claims and titles. Power quickly became one of the town’s first solicitors, alongside Sir Horace Tozer, handling indentures, assignments, and court matters. By 1887, records show Power receiving assignments of articles from Sir Horace Tozer, solidifying his independent practice. He served clients in mining, property, and commercial law, essential for Gympie’s growth from tent city to regional hub.

His office likely buzzed with diggers seeking claim validations and merchants drafting contracts. Power’s expertise helped stabilize the local economy, navigating the Queensland Colony’s complex land regulations during the 1870s and 1880s.

Power’s Local Government Contributions

Beyond private practice, Power immersed in public service. He joined the Glastonbury and Widgee Divisional Boards, early local government bodies managing roads, sanitation, and rates in Gympie’s rural surrounds. Most notably, he chaired the inaugural Gympie Drainage Board, tackling flooding from the Mary River and mining runoff. The board’s first members included Power, Matthew Mellor, William Henderson, and investor William Davies, addressing infrastructure vital for settlement.

Power also led the Gympie Turf Club as president, promoting horse racing as social glue in a rough frontier town. His Mine-Owners’ and Mine Managers’ Association presidency advocated for safer operations and better worker conditions amid hazards like shaft collapses. These roles showcased his administrative skill, bridging diggers, business owners, and authorities to foster Gympie’s maturation.

Entry into State Politics

Power’s influence propelled him to Queensland’s Legislative Council on July 15, 1901. As an appointed upper house member, he represented regional interests until his death in 1912. In November 1907, he briefly served as Minister for Justice and Government Representative in the Council until February 1908. This cabinet post involved overseeing courts, prisons, and legal reforms during Arthur Kidston’s premiership.

Though the Council lacked elected democracy—members were appointed for life—Power championed Gympie’s mining and agricultural needs. His tenure aligned with federation debates and state development pushes post-1901 Commonwealth formation.

Family and Personal Life

On August 30, 1887, Power married Elizabeth Josephine Plunkett, an Irish woman, uniting two influential families. They raised eight sons and four daughters in Gympie, contributing to the town’s Catholic community.

Like so many mining towns Gympie was subject to the fluctuations of good and bad times. One of these “bad times” occurred whilst Francis and Elizabeth were building their home “Kitawah”.  To help relieve some of the unemployment Francis employed as many local men as he could. The result “was one of the most magnificent and spacious homes in Gympie, being structurally more solid than many weatherboard homes of the day, with its red cedar panelling, doors and window frames. There were servants’ quarters and a stable, a huge rotunda in the grounds where municipal bands would play for the public on Sundays, one of the first golf courses in Queensland, peacocks, an aviary, and even a monkey house.” (Gympie Times 29/9/1990)

A firm of Gympie undertakers rented stables on the property and two of the sons checked the local paper each day. If there was a funeral on that day it was their job to take the horses across the river, for which they were paid the sum of two shillings and sixpence.

The Power boys were educated at Nudgee College, Brisbane and De La Salle College, Armidale, and all went on to become doctors, solicitors, or accountants, professions chosen by their mother. The family fortunes declined after Francis died, on 26 June 1912, and the townspeople of Gympie contributed towards his children’s education as a mark of their respect.

Family Photograph of the Power Family

Kitiwah Homestead (Now Known as Gunabul Homestead)

The Powers built a large colonial homestead called ‘Kitiwah’ circa 1885 on 40 acres on the Mary River flats on the southside of Gympie, reflecting his status. The homestead was a true house of grandeur, with the finest architraves and best quality timber.

Features of Kitiwah include an Italian marble fireplace located in the ‘drawing room’.  Leadlight windows that retracted into the 13 foot ceilings which are still in working order today.

Owners of Kitiwah since the Power Family:

• ??: George Ferris
• 1950: William Amos
• 1969: Mr & Mrs John Andrews
• 1977: Mr & Mrs Blacker
• 1984: Peter & Robyn Snelling

George Ferris purchased ‘Kitawah’ from the Power family and remodeled it to suit his large family.  The stables and servants quarters were removed and the position of the house on the property was changed.  The next owner was William Amos who purchased the property in 1950.  Kitawah had several owners and was at one time flats, until Mr John Andrews bought it as a family home in 1969 and gave the homestead the name ‘Gunabul’.

Gunabul is still standing and is a golf complex with a restaurant and accommodation – you can go visit!

Early Gunabul Homestead known as Kitiwah

Early Gunabul Homestead known as Kitiwah

Death and Legacy of Francis Isidore Power M.L.C

Power died on June 24, 1912, at age 60 in Gympie.  His health had been declining steadily for the last two years of his life.  He lapsed into a state of unconsciousness and never woke up.  He was attended to by Dr John Pennefather Ryan and his family

His passing marked the end of an era for the gold town he helped build. According to an article published in The Gympie Times on the 29th September 1990:

“Francis was remembered as a kindly gentleman who devoted much of his time to the welfare of Gympie and worked tirelessly for its development.”

By his era, Gympie diversified into timber, dairy, and rail—the Mary Valley Rattler linking it to Brisbane. Schools like Gympie Central (1869) and St. Patrick’s (1916) educated his children.

In 1992 the Power family held a family reunion at Gunabul Homestead and presented the owners with portraits of Francis and Elizabeth Power.

The gravestone of Francis Isidore Power MLC and his wife Elizabeth

List of Achievements and Memberships

• Partner in firm Power and Pack (later Power & Cartwright which still exists in Gympie today)
• Member of the Gympie Local Divisional Board
• Member of the Glastonbury Divisional Board
• Establishment and Chairman of the Gympie Drainage Board
• Chairman Gympie Mine Owners’ Association
• Racehorse owner and breeder at the Gympie Turf Club
• Trustee of the Rhodes Scholarship
• Chairman of the John Flood Memorial
• Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland
• Gympie Hospital Board

Descendants of Francis Isidore Power

Children of Francis Power and Elizabeth Josephine Gunning Plunkett (1860 – 1936):

• Francis Plunkett Power 1887 – 1967, married Beryl Rankin in 1922, their children include Judith (1923), Frances (1924) Elizabeth (1925), Margaret (1927), Patricia Nancy (1929)
• Dr John Joseph Power 1889 – 1974 married Hilda Mary Walsh and had one son, Noel Plunkett Walsh Power, Noel married Irma Maroya and they had three children, Noel, Sean and Miryana.  John was a prominent surgeon in Brisbane.
• Vera Plunkett Power 1891 – 1977 married to Leslie Arthur Hall
• Lieutenant Noel Plunkett Power 1893 – 1917 was killed in action in World War 1 on the 4th October 1917 aged 24
• Leonard Plunkett Power 1894 – 1983 married Christina Stewart Anderson Smith in 1922.  He served with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment and saw action at Gallipoli.  He later became a solicitor.
• Muriel Plunkett Power 1896 – 1981 married Jones and had one daughter, Betty Mary Rogers
• Paul Plunkett Power 1897 – 1973 married Katherine E McClure
• Mona Mary Power 1899 – 1988
• Joyce Josephine Plunket Power 1900 – 1981
• Isadore Plunkett Power 1901 – 1958 died age 57 and buried in Toowong Cemetery
• Leo Plunkett Power 1903 – 1958, married Kathleen Margaret Vernon Fraser
• Gerald Plunkett Power 1905 – 1981 married Ada Irene Schrock in 1934

Siblings of Francis Isidore Power:

• Virgil Power
• Dr J. J. Power

Surnames Associated with the Power Surname

Family Associations:  Connolly, Plunkett, Rankin, Hall, Gott, Jones, Walsh, Fraser, Schrock, McClure, Smith, Banfield

Work and Social Associations:

• Dr John Penefather Ryan
• Mr J.M. Pack
• Davies
• Matthew Mellor
• Sir Horace Tozer
• William Henderson
• Jack Cartwright (Power & Cartwright Solicitors)
• Rev Father Matthew Horan
• James O’Connell Bligh
• William George Mildren (client)

For more information on Francis Isidore Family or his descendants, please contact the Gympie Family History Society.

References

• Queensland Parliament, Legislative Council Hansard, 3 July 1912 – President’s announcement of the deaths of the Honourable Albert James Callan and the Honourable Frank (Francis) Isidore Power, providing formal acknowledgment of his passing and status as a member of the Legislative Council.

• Queensland Parliamentary records and biographical listings of Legislative Council members – used to confirm dates of appointment, service and party alignment for Francis Isidore Power.

• Gympie Regional Libraries and Local History collection – rate books, directories, and electoral rolls recording Power’s presence in Gympie, his practice as a solicitor, and his involvement in local organisations and committees.

• Gympie Regional Council / Gympie Regional Libraries, Wild Heart, Bountiful Land: A History of the Mary River Valley – regional context for Gympie’s development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the environment in which Power practised law and engaged in public life.

• North West Kent Family History Society (via reprinted article on the GFHS site), “How Family History Research was Done in 1988 and the Story of James and Martha Wise” – includes cross‑references to Francis Isidore Power in the context of Gympie legal and civic networks.

• The Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Gympie, Qld.), various issues – notices of legal business, advertisements for Power’s practice, reports of meetings, public addresses, and obituaries, accessed via Trove and Gympie Regional Libraries.

• Trove, National Library of Australia – additional Queensland and interstate newspaper references to Francis Isidore Power in relation to his parliamentary role, legal work and death notices, as cited in the article.

• Genealogical databases (e.g. Ancestry, FamilySearch) – civil registration entries and indexed notices used to confirm birth, marriage and death details, plus family connections, where referenced in the GFHS article.