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[newspaper article, attached to page]

[marginalia] Courier, Friday 14/6/'12

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DEATH OF MR. R. A.

RANKING, C. M. G.

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QUEENSLAND'S SENIOR POLICE

MAGISTRATE

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A DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC

SERVANT.

Death came suddenly and with merciful
absence of pain to Mr. R. A. Ranking,
C. M. G., Senior Police Magistrate, and a
veteran servant of the public, at his home
at Brighton-road, West End, yesterday
afternoon at 4.30 o'clock. When the news
circulated in official quarters it left all
who heard it with a sense of deep personal
loss, and it was realised that death had
left a vacancy in the Public Service of the
State which will be hard to fill. It is 37 1/2
years since the deceased gentleman first
joined the Public Service, and during all
that time he has been a strenuous worker.
In fact he died in harness, having only re-
turned to his home on Tuesday evening
from Dunwich, where he had presided at
a Public Service Board inquiry. At that
time the deceased gentleman complained of
acute abdominal pains, but his condition
was not looked upon as serious. Yester-
day, however, his trouble became more
serious and despite the attentions of his
medical adviser (Dr. Webb) the respected
magistrate succumbed to an attack of heart
failure. Mr Ranking was not only held
in the highest personal esteem by all who
knew him, but he was recognised as a
friend of the poor, and many homes will
be sadder by his death. His Christian
character was of the highest order. Of him
it is fitting to say: "Well done, thou good
and faithful servant." He was a man of
clear, judicial mind, and keen judgment
these qualities being so well recognised ...

[photo of R. A. Ranking, depicting him with a balding pate, with a centre part, a large moustache, and wearing a dark suit-coat, with a high-collared white shirt and a bow-tie]

... that he was frequently selected for im-
portant special duties in addition to the
discharge of his magisterial functions.

The deceased gentleman was born at
Hastings, England, on July 5, 1843, and
was the fifth son of the late Dr. Ranking.
He came to Queensland in 1863, and spent
some years with Mr. D. C. M'Connel [McConnel] at
Cressbrook, and in 1868 engaged in sugar
growing at Yatala, in the Logan district.
His venture, unfortunately, was not suc-
cessful. It was not until November
13, 1874, that Mr Ranking joined
the Public Service. On that date he was
appointed Police Magistrate at Beenleigh.
He held similar positions in Blackall,
Maryborough, and Rockhampton, and on
March 16, 1898, he was transferred from
the latter place to Brisbane, receiving the
appointment of second Police Magistrate
in the metroplitan court. On January
1, 1904, Mr. Ranking attained to the
premier position in that service --- Senior
Police Magistrate in Brisbane, an office
which he held until his death. This re-
sponsible position cast upon him the
duties of chairman of the bench of magis-
trates and of the licensing authority for
the city, and the arrangement of work-
ing the several benches in the districts
adjacent to the metropolis. He was also
a member of the Immigration Board. In
1909 he was commissioned to visit New
Zealand and the Southern States for the
purpose of investigating and reporting
upon the administration of the liquor laws
in those places, and furnished the Govern-
ment with a valuable report on those
matters, and also with much useful data
respecting children's courts. In Novem-
ber, 1910, he took up duty as chairman
of the Sugar Commission which visited
many parts of Queensland during the suc-
ceeding months, and subsequently laid
before the Premier a comprehensive re-
port in regard to the industry in Queens-
land. It will be remembered, too, that
Mr Ranking was specially selected as
chairman of the Mining Inquiry Board ap-
pointed to inquire into the working of
the Mount Morgan mine at the time of
the distressing accidents in the latter part
of 1908.

The late Police Magistrate was a keen
student and assiduous worker, and the
result of his scholarship and research
shows in concrete form in the Queens-
land Police Code and Justices' Manual
of the Criminal Law, which he produced
in 1905. He was an able exponent of the
law; his decisions were invariably up-
held on appeal to the higher tribunals,
and the Judges of the Supreme Court
have, in several instances, paid a high
tribute to his recognised ability. The At-
torney-General, on hearing the sad news
yesterday afternoon, expressed his keen
sense of the great loss sustained by the
State in the passing away of such an able
magistrate, and the Under-Secretary for
Justice stated that the late Mr. Ranking
was one of the most zealous, capable, loyal,
and conscientious Police Magistrates in
the Public Service. In 1868 the deceased
married Miss E. MacEwan, who survives
him, and who was present during his last
illness. The only other relatives (two
sisters and three brothers) live out of the
State. They are Mrs R. B. Cay, Dover,
Kent, England; Dr. D. F. Ranking,
S.W., London, Dr. John Ranking, Tun-
bridge Wells, Kent, England; and Lieut.-
Colonel G. Ranking, Oxford, England. The
latter gentleman is Professor of Oriental
Languages at Oxford University. Last
year the late Mr. Ranking had conferred
upon him the honour of the C.M.G.,-ship,
and received his investiture in the Order
at the hands of his Excellency the Gover-
nor-General.

The funeral is timed to leave Jesmond,
The Residence of the deceased, Brighton -
road, at 3 o'clock to-day, for the Too-
wong Cemetery.

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