Date of Birth: 07/01/1805
Place of Birth: Poole, Dorset, England
Date of Death: 16/04/1893
Place of Death: Milton, Queensland, Australia
Parliamentary Service
| Member for East Moreton |
18 Jun 1859 |
10 Dec 1859 |
5 months 23 days |
|
| Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly |
18 Jun 1859 |
10 Dec 1859 |
5 months 23 days |
|
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Baker. Educated at the Lancastrian School in Poole, Robert Cribb was apprenticed as a baker. From 1827 he owned a confectionary and baking business in London, before migrating to Australia in 1849. On arrival he continued working as a baker in Brisbane for approximately six years. Robert Cribb was a foundation shareholder in Moreton Bay Immigration and Land Company which was incorporated in 1885 as well as a government provision merchant and commercial and land agent. He acquired much land in and around Brisbane, but nevertheless became insolvent in 1863, and became bankrupt in 1891 with liabilities of £50,000.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Member of the Parliament of Queensland. Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Brisbane 1860 - 1863; and for East Moreton 1863 - 1867.
Local Government Activity
Alderman of Brisbane Council 1859 until 1861.
Personal
Son of John Galpin, a master mariner, shipowner and designer, and Mary Dirham. Married (1) Sarah Sanson in 1827 in London and had issue, 4 sons and 1 daughter. Married (2) Sarah Walton in 1860 and had no issue. Robert Cribb's father died in 1820 after returning from the Napoleonic Wars in ill health, and consequently his mother opened a dame’s school in order to provide for the family. Arrived in Morton Bay in 1849 on a ship chartered by the Reverend J.D. Lang. Brother of Benjamin Cribb, who was also a Member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Congregationalist.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3.
A Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament 1860-1929.
Johnson, Beth. Robert Cribb: from an iceberg to Brisbane town. Auchenflower, Qld. Longleat House Publishing, 2005.
