Richard Alfred Tills (1860–1937) was the fourth mayor of Cairns, Australia and the twelfth chairman when Cairns was classified as a borough, a member of the Barron Divisional Board, and president of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce. Born in Kingston upon Hull, England, Tills was a carpenter, architect and one of the pioneers of North Queensland.Stallman, H.M. (2016). Richard Alfred Tills (1860-1937). People Australia. Available at
Early life and career Richard Alfred Tills was born on 12 June 1860 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.Richard Alfred The Trustees of FreeBMD 2013 http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl He was the eldest son of Alice Harrison and Alfred Tills, originally a carpenter,Database online. Class: HO107; Piece: 1531; Folio: 200; Page: 7; GSU roll: 174761. but a newsagent by the time Richard was bornDatabase online. Class: RG 9; Piece: 3596; Folio: 34; Page: 32; GSU roll: 543159. and later a grocer.Database online. Class: RG10; Piece: 4794; Folio: 60; Page: 18; GSU roll: 847350. Richard had two younger brothers, twins, Charles William and John Henry—John died at the age of 3. Richard worked as a master joiner in HullDatabase online. Class: RG11; Piece: 4750; Folio: 135; Page: 34; GSU roll: 1342147. before emigrating to Australia under the Assisted Immigration program, arriving in Mackay on 2 November 1882 at the age of 22.
After brief stints working as a carpenter in Mackay and Townsville,Cairns Post, Saturday 11 May 1907 Character Sketches (no. 1) The Candidate for Cairns Richard Alfred Tills Richard became an early pioneer of North Queensland arriving in Cairns in 1883. Within six months of his arrival at Trinity Bay, Cairns, he had qualified as a contractor and worked on the construction of numerous buildings in Cairns. Several years later, he assayed mining, prospecting on the Mulgrave goldfield, south of Cairns, where he erected a water-wheel battery. After processing 600 tonnes of stone from various mines, a disillusioned Tills returned to work with timber.
Tills moved to the Atherton Tableland and established a sawmill at Redlynch, eight miles from Cairns, on the Cairns-Mareeba railway line, with Charles Michael, Robert Warren and three times Mayor of Cairns, Louis Severin.The Courier Mail Wednesday 9 June 1937 Obituary Mr R.A. Tills By 1889, Richard Tills was the sole proprietor of the Cairns Saw Mill.Cairns Post (Qld. : 1884 – 1893) Saturday 3 August 1889 Cairns Saw Mill Co. In 1899, he moved the sawmill to Cairns along the Mulgrave tramway line. The five acres site was situated on Alligator Creek, a site eminently suitable, as the tramway line passed just in front of the works, and Alligator creek ran within a hundred yards of the back of the mill—having a depth of 14 ft at high tides, the creek was very useful in floating logs up and down from and to the Cairns inlet. The main shed was 150 ft x 60 ft, and the offices, timber shed, and workshop (a two-storey building) was 30 x 24 ft. A shed was erected to stack timber during the rainy season. In 1899, Tills had fifteen men employed at the mill and a similar number engaged getting logs.The North Queensland Register (Townsville, Qld. : 1892 – 1905) Monday 2 October 1899 R A Tills Saw-milling Establishment
During the early part of the century, there was a trend away from the construction of buildings with timber to reinforced concrete or cavity brick as a response to significant damage caused by frequent cyclones in the area, though there was no reported downturn in business at Till's sawmill. In 1906, a prospectus was issued for the floatation of a company to take over the timber business and saw-mills he owned with Mr T Griffith.Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Wednesday 24 October 1906 Cairns Timber Company Floatation He sold his timber business in March 1907.Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Monday 18 March 1907 Timber Business Sold
Richard Tills was a founding member of the Cairns Artillery Volunteer Corps on 8 February 1886,Cairns Post (Qld.: 1884 – 1893) Thursday 5 November 1885 Local ItemsCairns Post (Qld. : 1884 – 1893) Saturday 25 June 1892 North Queensland CelebritiesNational Archives of Australia Item Barcode 9109688 http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=9109688 which was formed in response to the Russian scare of 18836—the Russians had moved into the Pacific, Germany and had annexed the northern part of New Guinea, concerning the Queensland colonial government. It forced the government to consider the idea of colonial defence and voluntary defence organizations. The Volunteer Corp was initially formed under a Volunteer Act and later the Defence Act. It was initially composed of 30 men and three officers.Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 – 1954) Friday 15 April 1932 Military Reminiscence Tills quickly rose from the rank of sergeant, to lieutenant in 1886,The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933) Monday 15 February 1886 to captain in 1891.The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939) Saturday 25 July 1891 Queensland Defence Force He was commanding officer of the corps from 1886. Richard's son, Alfred fought in the FirstNational Archives of Australia Service Number – Q186363 http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4631424 and Second World Wars .National Archives of Australia http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8391295Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 – 1954) Thursday 17 October 1918 Pte. Wounded Again The Cairns Post provided reports about Alfred's time in WWI, publishing letters he sent his father from Belgium in their section The Soldiers' Postbag, as well as announcements of him being wounded in 1917, and 1918. Richard's nephew, John Alfred Tills also served in the First World War— he was killed in action at the age of 21.
Richard Tills' height was referred to on multiple occasions by the mediaMorning Post (Cairns) 26 August 1907—he was reportedly the tallest soldier in the Volunteer Artillery Corp. at 6 ft. 8in tall. A 1907 recount reported “In a personal article on the recent Brisbane Exhibition, entitled “Pen Pictures”, the “Sun” thus refers to the Mayor of Cairns:- “A veritable son of Anak, one of Amalek’s prodigious progeny, is Richard Alfred Tills...Tills is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 16 stone. He walks along Queen Street towering above the crowd, and making small men feel as little as Tom Thumb...would have been an imposing figure in Parliament”.
Richard Tills was one of the officers of the first Masonic Lodge to be formed in Cairns.
Public life The first local government of Cairns was established in 1879. Six years later, Tills, at the age of 24, was elected an Alderman of the Cairns Divisional Board, then the only local governing body in the district, and which had jurisdiction over the territory now comprised within the areas under the control of the Cairns Shire Council, the Barron Shire Council, and the Cairns Town Council.
In 1890, Richard Tills so impressed the members with his practical knowledge and business tact that he was elected chairman of the board, a position which he held until the disintegration of that body and the formation of the Barron Divisional Board and the Cairns Municipal Council at the end of 1890. Tills was unanimously appointed the first chairman of the Barron Divisional Board and held the position for a further two years. One of the significant achievements during his time on the Barron Divisional Board was construction of the first link between Cairns and the back country, by extending the coach road from Kuranda to Mareeba through Cairns. Tills had then worked for the continuing of the railway from Cairns into the back country.Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Saturday 18 May 1907 The Final Rally Mr R A Tills' Address
He was elected Mayor of Cairns three times, in 1900, 1901 and 1907, following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, Newton Tills who was Mayor of Colchester, Essex, England in 1793.
Richard Tills had a leading role in the reestablishment of the Cairns School of Arts Technical College and was its first president in 1899.Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Saturday 27 January 1900 The school started with classes in shorthand, bookkeeping and dressmaking. In May 1900, classes were suspended in all areas except shorthand because classes were not self-supporting and insufficient support was provided by the Works Department.Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Friday 25 May 1900 Cairns Technical College
In 1900, Richard was appointed to the first joint board for the prevention of epidemic diseases comprising Cairns, Hinchinbrook, Cardwell, and Johnstone districts.The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933) Thursday 10 May 1900 New Joint Boards He became a justice of the peace on 23 April 1890.
In 1904, Tills nominated as the Cairns member in the Parliament of Queensland, as a member of the Oppositionist party,Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton) Saturday 13 August 1904 but was unsuccessful.Morning Post (Cairns) Tuesday 6 September 1904 General Elections Cairns Electorate In this election, Richard Tills was a strong supporter for the establishment of a technical college in North Queensland not primarily as a means for higher education, but he believed that but it would teach boys how to become good workmen and keep them from congregating at street corners at night smoking cigarettes. He wanted technical colleges in every district and didn't agree with sending Northern boys to Gatton College, because the Northern climate and other conditions were entirely different from South East Queensland. He believed training boys in chemistry, agriculture, mineralogy, among other things would eliminate the need to import labour—"Our young men were as intelligent as those in any part of the world, and all they wanted was a system of education, which would give them a chance to learn."Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 – 1907) Wednesday 24 August 1904 Mr R A Tills Candidature A Splendid Speech "Socking" it home
In 1905, Tills was appointed a Licensing justice for the Cairns district.The North Queensland Register (Townsville) Monday 3 April 1905
Richard Tills occupied many other positions of honour, responsibility, and trust in the community. He was a member of the Cairns Hospital Committee, superintendent of the Cairns Fire Brigade BoardMorning Post (Cairns, Qld.: 1897 – 1907) Tuesday 26 February 1901 Cairns Fire BrigadeThe Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933) Thursday 15 March 1906 Official appointments and president of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.Cairns Post (Qld.: 1884 – 1893) Thursday 9 September 1886 Cairns Chamber of Commerce He was described as an energetic member of the Advertising Board which worked to publish information regarding the resources and potentialities of the Far North throughout the world. He was also one of the strongest and most persistent advocates of the Cairns Waterworks Scheme.
Richard Tills was an appointed Inspector of Public Works at Cairns in 1914—the appointment was popular because Tills was considered a practical man.The Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Qld. : 1874 – 1954) Monday 2 February 1914 Cairns Notes He held that position for 13 years, until his retirement in 1927.Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 – 1954) Monday 25 July 1927 Public Service Retiring Officer Honored by Conferees During his time as Works Inspector, Tills was associated with the launching of the Federal Government's soldier settlement and homes scheme in the district.