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BEAHAN, Michael Eamon (1937–2022)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1987–96 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

BEAHAN, Michael Eamon (1937–2022)
Senator for Western Australia, 1987–96 (Australian Labor Party)

Michael Beahan, electrician, teacher, and state secretary of the ALP in Western Australia (1981–87), rose to be the nineteenth President of the Senate, holding that post from 1 February 1994 to 20 August 1996, before his formidable parliamentary career was cut short by pre-selection party politics. Michael Eamon Beahan was born on 21 January 1937 in London, England, the son of Irish autoelectrician Francis

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BRANSON, George Howard (1918–1999)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1958–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

BRANSON, George Howard (1918–1999)
Senator for Western Australia, 1958–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)

George Howard Branson, sales manager and farmer, was born in Perth on 23 February 1918, the third of five surviving children of South Australian-born Howard Henry Branson and Ethel May, née Carrett, from Victoria. At the turn of the century Howard had been a goldminer in Geraldton and went on to acquire interests from mining magnate Claude de Bernales. Faced with lung problems, Branson

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BUZACOTT, Richard (1867–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1910–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

BUZACOTT, Richard (1867–1933)
Senator for Western Australia, 1910–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Richard Buzacott was born at Emu Flat, near Clare, South Australia, on 7 September 1867, son of Richard Buzacott, a farmer of Emu Farm, Armagh (near Clare, South Australia) and his wife Margaret, née McKinnon. An elder brother, Nicholas, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1899–1933). Richard was educated at Stanley Flat Primary School. In 1891, he went to work

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CANT, Hartley Gordon James (1907–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1959–74 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CANT, Hartley Gordon James (1907–1977)
Senator for Western Australia, 1959–74 (Australian Labor Party)

Hartley Gordon James Cant, miner, union official and industrial advocate, was born at Mount Magnet, Western Australia, on 19 November 1907, the beginning of a long association with remote areas of the state, which became central to his working life. Known as Harry to his friends and colleagues, he was one of nine surviving children of Arthur Edward Cant, a labourer, and Bridget, née

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CARROLL, William (1872–1936)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1926–36 (Australian Country Party) </span>

CARROLL, William (1872–1936)
Senator for Western Australia, 1926–36 (Australian Country Party)

William Carroll, wheat farmer, was one of a number of rural activists who helped to create the Country Party and who, by entering the federal Parliament in the 1920s and 1930s, changed the Australian political landscape. Born in the Western District of Victoria, at Garvoc, in the Shire of Warrnambool, on 3 January 1872, he was the son of Scottish-born James Carroll, and his

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CHAMARETTE, Christabel Marguerite Alain (1948– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1992–96, (Greens WA)</span>

CHAMARETTE, Christabel Marguerite Alain (1948– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1992–96, (Greens WA)

Christabel Chamarette represented Western Australia as a senator from 1992 to 1996. Her term, although short, was made noteworthy by the fact that between 1993 and 1996 she shared the balance of power with other minor party and independent senators, including her Greens (WA) colleague Dee Margetts. Christabel Marguerite Alain Chamarette was born on 1 May 1948 at Hyderabad, India, the daughter of Arthur

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CHANEY, Frederick Michael (1941– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1971–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

CHANEY, Frederick Michael (1941– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1971–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Fred Chaney’s first speech to the Senate on 25 September 1974 was, for him, ‘a long awaited opportunity’, and he spoke with the assurance of one who had found his vocation. Chaney had visited Parliament many times as a schoolboy and as a law student with his father, Sir Frederick Chaney, who was the MHR for Perth from 1955 to 1969 and Minister for

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CLOTHIER, Robert Ernest (1877–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CLOTHIER, Robert Ernest (1877–1964)
Senator for Western Australia, 1938–50 (Australian Labor Party)

Robert Ernest Clothier was ‘one of the most loyal members the Australian Labour Party ever had’. He was, according to Senator McKenna, ever about the party’s business. R. G. Menzies observed that Clothier was ‘tremendously popular’ with a considerable genius ‘for a warm and friendly human approach’, adding that he found himself ‘wondering occasionally whether he was on my side or not’. Clothier was socially conservative:

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COLEBATCH, Sir Hal Pateshall (1872–1953)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1929–33 (Nationalist Party)</span>

COLEBATCH, Sir Hal Pateshall (1872–1953)
Senator for Western Australia, 1929–33 (Nationalist Party)

Harry (Hal) Pateshall Colebatch was born at Wolferlow, Hertfordshire, England, on 29 March 1872, migrating with his parents to South Australia at the age of six. Educated at Goolwa, he left school at fourteen and entered journalism, working from 1889 to 1895 on the Silver Age at Broken Hill. Moving to Western Australia in 1895, he worked briefly on the Golden Age and the

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COLEMAN, Ruth Nancy (1931–2008)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

COLEMAN, Ruth Nancy (1931–2008)
Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)

Ruth Nancy Huckstep (later Coleman), was born on 27 September 1931 at Collie, a small coal mining town in the south-west of Western Australia. She was the second surviving child of Vincent Huckstep, railway ganger, and his wife Alice Beatrice, née Boulden. A child of the Great Depression, whose father moved from place to place in the course of his job, Ruth was educated

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COLLETT, Herbert Brayley (1877–1947)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1933–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

COLLETT, Herbert Brayley (1877–1947)
Senator for Western Australia, 1933–47 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Herbert Brayley Collett, librarian and distinguished soldier, was born on 12 November 1877 at St Peter Port, at Guernsey in the Channel Islands. He was the son of Frank Collett, auctioneer, and his wife, Laura Augusta, née Wedlake. Herbert was nearly seven when his family emigrated on the SS Glen Goil to Western Australia, disembarking at Fremantle on 11 October 1884. Educated privately and

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COOKE, Joseph Alfred (1904–1981)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1952–65 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

COOKE, Joseph Alfred (1904–1981)
Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1952–65 (Australian Labor Party)

Joseph Alfred Cooke, whose family name of Cook acquired an ‘e’ on his parents’ marriage certificate, was born in Perth on 28 March 1904, sixth child of Charles John Cook, a draper, and Elizabeth Anne, née Doonan. Elizabeth came from a well-to-do family of grocers and drapers in Fremantle. Joe’s early childhood was spent at Jarrahdale. From 1914 the family lived in the south-west

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CRANE, Arthur Winston (1941– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1990–2002 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)</span>

CRANE, Arthur Winston (1941– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1990–2002 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)

Arthur Winston Crane (known as Winston) was born in Perth on 21 August 1941, one of seven children of farmer Arthur Crane and his wife Lavina, née Longman, from Bindi Bindi in the wheat belt north of Perth. Winston Crane’s uncle, Albert (Bert) Crane was a longstanding Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing the constituency of Moore for the National Country Party

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CRICHTON-BROWNE, Noel Ashley (1944– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1981–96 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)</span>

CRICHTON-BROWNE, Noel Ashley (1944– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1981–96 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)

Noel Ashley Crichton-Browne, who was President of the Western Australian Liberal Party from 1975 to 1979, was elected to the Senate for a term beginning on 1 July 1981. He was reelected in 1983, 1984, and 1990, serving as a Liberal Party senator until 9 September 1995 and then as an Independent Liberal, before retiring upon the expiry of his final term on 30

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CROFT, John William (1871–19??)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1904–10 (Labor Party)</span>

CROFT, John William (1871–19??)
Senator for Western Australia, 1904–10 (Labor Party)

John William Croft was born to James Thomas Croft and Annie, née Bassett, on 20 January 1871 in Newcastle, New South Wales, the second of ten children. His grandfather, James, who spelled his name ‘Crofts’, had been transported for life for highway robbery, and after a brief time in Van Diemen’s Land, was sent to Newcastle where he was appointed an overseer in the

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CUNNINGHAM, James (1879–1943)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1937–43 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

CUNNINGHAM, James (1879–1943)
Senator for Western Australia, 1937–43 (Australian Labor Party)

James Cunningham was born on 28 December 1879 at Wirrabara, South Australia, the son of James Cunningham, a stonemason and farmer, and his wife Catherine, née Herring, domestic servant. Young Jimmy had little formal education. From 1899 he was a prospector and goldminer, working at Norseman until 1905, and then at Boulder and Kalgoorlie. Fifteen years in the mines left him with a legacy

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DE LARGIE, Hugh (1859–1947)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

DE LARGIE, Hugh (1859–1947)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–23 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Hugh de Largie, miner and trade union leader, was born on 24 March 1859 in Airdrie, Scotland, the son of Archibald, a coal miner, and his wife Mary, née McLaren. Both parents died when he was young. Educated to primary level only, at St Margaret’s School in Airdrie, de Largie worked in the Lanarkshire mines from the age of ten and later became active

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DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Edmund Alfred (1884–1949)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)</span>

DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Edmund Alfred (1884–1949)
Senator for Western Australia, 1920–26 (Nationalist Party)

Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman, whose military, parliamentary and judicial careers were linked one to the other, was born on 21 February 1884 at Busselton, Western Australia, son of Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman, surveyor, and his wife, Grace Vernon, daughter of prominent Western Australian, A. P. Bussell. In 1875, Grace had shown great heroism when she helped save survivors from the shipwrecked Georgette. Edmund was educated at

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DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Sir Thomas Charles (1919–1992)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1958–78 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party) </span>

DRAKE-BROCKMAN, Sir Thomas Charles (1919–1992)
Senator for Western Australia, 1958–78 (Australian Country Party; National Country Party)

Thomas Charles Drake-Brockman, farmer, airman and grazier, was a member of a pioneering Western Australian family. His great-grandfather, Robert James Brockman, arrived at Fremantle from England in 1831. One of Robert’s grandchildren, Robert James Hastie Brockman, became a farmer at Toodyay, near Northam. In 1918 Robert married Rose Ita (Nora) Marrinan, who came from Kilkee, Ireland. Rose had arrived in Perth in 1911, aged

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DURACK, Peter Drew (1926–2008)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1971–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

DURACK, Peter Drew (1926–2008)
Senator for Western Australia, 1971–93 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Peter Durack was described by his greatest adversary in the Senate, Gareth Evans, as ‘a man of genuinely Liberal reformist instincts’. Committed to the protection of individual rights through the limitation of executive power, and to preventing the erosion of the rights of the states by federal encroachment, as Attorney-General in the Fraser Government from 1977 to 1983, Durack oversaw a significant period of

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EVANS, John Gordon (1928–2009)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1983–85 (Australian Democrats)</span>

EVANS, John Gordon (1928–2009)
Senator for Western Australia, 1983–85 (Australian Democrats)

Although Jack Evans served in the Senate for only two years, he was a founding member of the Australian Democrats before entering Parliament and remained a key figure in the party afterwards. He was described as ‘the consummate Democrat’. John Gordon (Jack) Evans was born at Southern Cross, a goldfields town in Western Australia, on 28 November 1928, the eldest of three sons of

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EWING, Norman Kirkwood (1870–1928)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–03 (Free Trade)</span>

EWING, Norman Kirkwood (1870–1928)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–03 (Free Trade)

Norman Kirkwood Ewing served in three parliaments and stood for a fourth, but is remembered as a judge. Born on 26 December 1870 at Wollongong, New South Wales, he was the tenth child of a Church of England clergyman, Thomas Ewing, and his wife Elizabeth, née Thomson. His eldest brother (Sir) Thomas was a New South Wales MLA (1885–1901) and Commonwealth MP (1901–10), serving

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FRASER, James McIntosh (1889–1961)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1938–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

FRASER, James McIntosh (1889–1961)
Senator for Western Australia, 1938–59 (Australian Labor Party)

James McIntosh Fraser, Perth tram driver, city councillor and member of the wartime ministries of the Curtin, Forde and Chifley Labor governments, was born on 12 March 1889 at 26 Batchen Street, Forres, Scotland, to James McIntosh Fraser, ploughman, and Elspet, née Anderson. The young James was educated at the Milne’s Institution, Fochabers, until 1903. His initial employment was as an apprentice gardener at

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GILES, Patricia Jessie (1928–2017)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1981–93 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GILES, Patricia Jessie (1928–2017)
Senator for Western Australia, 1981–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Pat Giles was born Patricia Jessie White, daughter of Eustace Frederick White, car salesman, shop keeper and accountant, and his wife Marjorie Eva, née Norris, schoolteacher, on 16 November 1928 at Minlaton, South Australia. The family moved to Melbourne, but the marriage was ‘violent and unhappy’. Marjorie and Pat returned to Adelaide in 1931, shortly before Marjorie gave birth to her second daughter. Marjorie

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GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

GRAHAM, Charles Montague (1867–1938)
Senator for Western Australia, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Charles Montague Graham came to politics via ‘tailoring’ on the Western Australian goldfields. Born in 1867 at Christchurch, New Zealand, eldest son of Patrick Graham, horse trainer, Charles Montague was educated and trained as a tailor in New Zealand. In his early twenties, he migrated to the Australian goldfields and by 1892 had set up as a tailor in Pell Street, Broken Hill. He

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HARNEY, Edward Augustine St Aubyn (1865–1929)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–03 (Free Trade)</span>

HARNEY, Edward Augustine St Aubyn (1865–1929)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–03 (Free Trade)

Edward Harney was remembered by his fellow Western Australian, George Pearce, as ‘one of the bright lights of the first Senate’. Harney was born in Dublin on 31 August 1865, the fifth son of Richard Harney, JP, of Killoteran House, County Waterford, and Ann,née King, of County Tipperary. A Roman Catholic, he was educated at St Vincent’s College, Castleknock, the Jesuit College at Clongowes

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HARRIS, John (1890–1974)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1953–59 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

HARRIS, John (1890–1974)
Senator for Western Australia, 1947–51, 1953–59 (Australian Labor Party)

John Harris, blacksmith and union official, was born at Granville, New South Wales, on 3 December 1890. His father, also John Harris, hailed from south Wales in the United Kingdom, and his mother, Amy Florence, née Ellis, was born in Adelaide, South Australia. When John was about ten years old the Harris family moved to Perth, where he completed his primary education at Cottesloe

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HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)</span>

HENDERSON, Christopher George (1857–1933)
Senator for Western Australia, 1904–23 (Australian Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party)

Christopher George Henderson was born at Bedlington, Northumberland, England, on 19 August 1857, to George Henderson of Rothesay, Scotland, and Jane, née Short. At the time of her son’s birth, Jane could neither read nor write. Christoper George began his working life at the age of eight or nine years as a pony boy in a Northumberland coal mine. At fifteen, he became a

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JENKINS, Jean Alice (1938– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1987–90 (Australian Democrats)</span>

JENKINS, Jean Alice (1938– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1987–90 (Australian Democrats)

Jean Jenkins was born Jean Alice Elliott on 16 March 1938 in Bristol, England, to Ernest Elliott and his wife Alice Elizabeth, née Jones. She was brought up by adoptive parents Daniel and Blanche Jones in Swansea, Wales. Jean attended Swansea Girls High School and completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in languages at the University of Reading, majoring in Italian, French and German.

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JOHNSTON, Edward Bertram (1880–1942)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1929–42 (Australian Country Party)</span>

JOHNSTON, Edward Bertram (1880–1942)
Senator for Western Australia, 1929–42 (Australian Country Party)

Edward Bertram Johnston, for thirty years a colourful maverick in Western Australian and federal politics, was never considered enough of a team player to achieve cabinet rank, but never lost an election.Born on 11 January 1880 at Geraldton, Western Australia, Bertie, as he was known, was the eldest of eleven children born to Harry Frederick Johnston (Surveyor-General of Western Australia from 1896 to 1915)

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KINGSMILL, Sir Walter (1864–1935)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1923–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

KINGSMILL, Sir Walter (1864–1935)
Senator for Western Australia, 1923–35 (Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Sir Walter Kingsmill, distinguished Western Australian parliamentarian and President of the Senate, started his working life as a geologist, prospector and mine manager. He was born on 10 April 1864 at Glenelg in South Australia, son of Walter Kingsmill, pastoralist, and his wife Jane Elizabeth, née Haslam. He was educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter in Adelaide, and at the University of

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LATHAM, Sir Charles George (1882–1968)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1942–43 (Australian Country Party)</span>

LATHAM, Sir Charles George (1882–1968)
Senator for Western Australia, 1942–43 (Australian Country Party)

Charles George Latham, wheat farmer and influential Country Party politician, believed in firm action. During the Depression of the 1930s he once suggested to Premier James Mitchell that a fire hose be turned upon a large crowd demonstrating outside the Treasury Building in St George’s Terrace, though Mitchell, it seems, did not take his advice. Latham was born in England, at Hythe, in Kent,

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LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

LYNCH, Patrick Joseph (1867–1944)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Patrick Joseph Lynch, shearer, miner, seaman, engine-driver, trade unionist and farmer, was born on 24 May 1867 at Skearke, Moynalty, Kells, County Meath, Ireland, the youngest of eight children, to Michael Lynch, farmer, and his wife Bridget, née Cahill. Patrick’s family had farmed their 17-acre property for several generations. It was here in this close-knit rural community at the Newcastle end of Moynalty parish,

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MacDONALD, Allan Nicoll (1892–1978)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MacDONALD, Allan Nicoll (1892–1978)
Senator for Western Australia, 1935–47 (United Australia Party; Liberal Party of Australia)

Allan Nicoll MacDonald was a youthful migrant to Australia and a survivor of Gallipoli. Both these experiences clearly informed his political activities and attitudes as a senator. The son of Alexander McDonald, the retired manager of a jute mill at Gourapore, India, and his wife Helen Christie, née Nicoll, he was born at Lochee, Dundee, Scotland, on 25 August 1892. (His father’s name appears

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MARGETTS, Diane Elizabeth (1955– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1993–99, (Greens WA)</span>

MARGETTS, Diane Elizabeth (1955– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1993–99, (Greens WA)

Dee Margetts was a senator for one term between 1993 and 1999 during which she shared the balance of power in the Senate with other minor party and independent senators. The way she dealt with this situation was influenced heavily by her previous activities and experience as an environmental and peace activist. Diane Elizabeth (Dee) Margetts was born on 5 March 1955 in Fremantle,

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MARTYR, John Raymond (1932–2021)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1981–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

MARTYR, John Raymond (1932–2021)
Senator for Western Australia, 1981–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Raymond Martyr, vigorous promoter of ‘pro-life’ policies and of self-reliance, was born in Melbourne on 25 May 1932, elder of two sons of Ernest John Martyr and Ellen Mary, née Goodwin. Ernest Martyr was variously a ‘bush worker’ and ‘dyer and cleaner’ served briefly in the AIF in 1918, and then in the Royal Australian Navy as a stoker and officer’s steward. Classified

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MARWICK, Thomas William (1895–1960)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1936–37 (Australian Country Party)</span>

MARWICK, Thomas William (1895–1960)
Senator for Western Australia, 1936–37 (Australian Country Party)

Thomas William Marwick, farmer, was born in York, Western Australia on 19 April 1895, the son of Warren Marwick, a farmer and member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, and Susan, née Collins. Thomas was educated at Christian Brothers College, York, and then at the Perth Technical School where he studied engineering. On leaving school in 1911 Marwick worked for two years in the

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MATHESON, Sir Alexander Perceval (1861–1929)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)</span>

MATHESON, Sir Alexander Perceval (1861–1929)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)

Alexander Matheson, merchant and developer, was born in Mayfair, London, on 6 February 1861, the eldest son of Sir Alexander Matheson, a Member of Parliament who was created a Baronet in 1882, and his third wife, Eleanor, née Perceval. Eleanor was a granddaughter of Spencer Perceval, the British Prime Minister assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812. The young Alexander

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McINTOSH, Gordon Douglas (1925–2019)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McINTOSH, Gordon Douglas (1925–2019)
Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party)

Gordon Douglas McIntosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 29 May 1925, the son of Gordon McIntosh, ship’s stoker and swimming pool attendant, and his wife Dorothy Robson, née Douglas. Attending Drumoyne Primary School and Govan High School, he was apprenticed in 1940 as a fitter and turner, starting work in the Glasgow shipyards before serving as a mechanic with the Royal Air Force

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McKIERNAN, James Philip (1944–2018)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1985–2002 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

McKIERNAN, James Philip (1944–2018)
Senator for Western Australia, 1985–2002 (Australian Labor Party)

James Philip (Jim) McKiernan, the third of eight children of James and Mary (Maisie) McKiernan, was born on 11 October 1944 in Cavan, Ireland. From the age of six he attended De La Salle College run by the Christian Brothers but left at the age of twelve, blaming brutal and humiliating treatment that he had received at the hands of one of the brothers.

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NASH, Richard Harry (1890–1951)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1943–51 (Australan Labor Party)</span>

NASH, Richard Harry (1890–1951)
Senator for Western Australia, 1943–51 (Australan Labor Party)

Richard Harry Nash was born on 2 July 1890 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, to Harry Avers Nash, a storeman, and Elizabeth Phoebe, née Stroud, who had emigrated from England. In 1897 Dick, as he was known, and his parents arrived in Kalgoorlie. After attending Lake View State School near Boulder, he trained as a junior mechanic, but in 1904 joined the staff of the

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NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

NEEDHAM, Edward (1874–1956)
Senator for Western Australia, 1907–20, 1923–29 (Australian Labor Party)

Edward (Ted) Needham was born at Ormskirk in Lancashire, probably on 30 September 1874. His parents were Patrick Needham, a labourer, and Margaret, née Fahy, both of Irish Roman Catholic background. Ted Needham was very short of stature. During his years in the Senate, he and another Labor senator, Arthur Rae, used to ridicule each other’s lack of height. Once, when asked by a

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NEGUS, Sydney Ambrose (1912–1986)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1971–74 (Independent)</span>

NEGUS, Sydney Ambrose (1912–1986)
Senator for Western Australia, 1971–74 (Independent)

Sydney Ambrose Negus, a somewhat quixotic figure, thus announced his intention to use membership of the Senate to further a campaign in the public interest. Standing as an independent on the single issue of death duties, he had easily won the fifth Senate seat for Western Australia at the elections of 21 November 1970. His election was as much a surprise to himself as

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PALTRIDGE, Sir Shane Dunne (1910–1966)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1951–66 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

PALTRIDGE, Sir Shane Dunne (1910–1966)
Senator for Western Australia, 1951–66 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Like many of his peers, Shane Paltridge brought to the Senate significant life and work experiences, including business and war service. Born in Leederville, Perth, on 11 January 1910, he was the younger of two children of Archer Dunn Paltridge, a bank clerk, and Florence Marjorie, née Thomas, both of whom came from South Australia. Shane’s early life was punctuated by relocations, as his

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PANIZZA, John Horace (1931–1997)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1987–97 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)

PANIZZA, John Horace (1931–1997)
Senator for Western Australia, 1987–97 (Liberal Party of Australia; Independent Liberal)

John Horace Panizza was born on 23 March 1931 at Southern Cross, Western Australia, the eldest child of Bortolo (Robert) Panizza, a farmer, and his wife Caterina Cristina, née Della Bona. Born in Italy, Panizza’s parents came to Australia in 1921. Robert Panizza initially cut sugar cane in Ingham, Queensland, from where he went on to work in the mines near Broken Hill and

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PEARCE, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)</span>

PEARCE, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–38 (Labor Party; National Labour Party; Nationalist Party; United Australia Party)

Sir George Foster Pearce, carpenter and trade union leader, was born on 14 January 1870 at Mount Barker, South Australia, one of ten children of James Pearce, a blacksmith who had emigrated from Cornwall, and his wife Jane, née Foster, of London. He left school at eleven and became a farm worker, but after several unhappy years on the land, he began a carpentry

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PIESSE, Edmund Stephen Roper (1900–1952)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–52 (Australian Country Party)</span>

PIESSE, Edmund Stephen Roper (1900–1952)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–52 (Australian Country Party)

Edmund Stephen Roper Piesse, farmer and businessman, was the first of the ‘squires of the Katanning district’ to be elected to the federal Parliament. His father and three of his uncles had served in the Western Australian Parliament at various times from self-government in 1890 to 1935.[1] Piesse was born at Katanning, the centre of a developing mixed farming district in the Great Southern

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PROWSE, Edgar Wylie (1905–1977)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1962–73 (Australian Country Party)</span>

PROWSE, Edgar Wylie (1905–1977)
Senator for Western Australia, 1962–73 (Australian Country Party)

Edgar Wylie Prowse, farmer and politician, was born at Mount Kokeby in the Western Australian wheat belt on 22 March 1905, one of two surviving sons of the nine children of Albert (‘Ab’) Edward Cornwall Prowse, policeman and farmer, and Maud Helena Grace, née Quarmby, both from New South Wales. Encouraged by Ab’s brother John Henry (Jack), who had settled in Western Australia, the

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REID, David Donald (1933– )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974 (Australian Country Party)</span>

REID, David Donald (1933– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1974 (Australian Country Party)

David Donald Reid, farmer and landcare practitioner, was born on 10 May 1933 at Bridgetown, Western Australia, the only son of Donald Phillip Reid, primary producer, and his wife Marion Fraser, née Davies. He was educated at Bridgetown Primary School and Denmark Agricultural College from which he graduated with a Diploma of Agriculture in 1949 (in later years he completed part of a postgraduate

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ROBERTSON, Agnes Robertson (1882–1968)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–62 (Liberal Party of Australia; Australian Country Party)</span>

ROBERTSON, Agnes Robertson (1882–1968)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–62 (Liberal Party of Australia; Australian Country Party)

Agnes Robertson Keay was born at Stepney, Adelaide, South Australia, on 31 July 1882, only daughter of David Kelly Keay, stonemason and building contractor, and his wife Mary Ann, née Thomson. A lone girl among seven brothers, Agnes soon learnt ‘to fight’ her way ‘with them all’. Her father was a well-read social commentator and regular contributor to contemporary journals. He revelled in controversial

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ROBINSON, William Charles (1907–1981)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1952–53 (Australian Country Party)</span>

ROBINSON, William Charles (1907–1981)
Senator for Western Australia, 1952–53 (Australian Country Party)

William Charles Campbell Bignall Robinson was born in Hertford, England, on 4 October 1907, the son of William Robinson, publican, and Alice, née Bolton. Around 1911, the family arrived in Western Australia, and settled as farmers in the Williams district. Bill, as young Robinson was known, was educated at Tarwonga State School and Northam Senior High School before following his father onto the land.

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ROCHER, Allan Charles (1936–2016)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1978–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

ROCHER, Allan Charles (1936–2016)
Senator for Western Australia, 1978–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Allan Charles Rocher was one of a select band of federal parliamentarians who served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Before election to the Senate in 1977 he was hardly known in Liberal Party circles, yet he was pre-selected ahead of some twenty-two candidates, and went on to win a Senate seat from the notoriously difficult third position on the party

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SAUNDERS, Henry John (1855–1919)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1903 (Free Trade)</span>

SAUNDERS, Henry John (1855–1919)
Senator for Western Australia, 1903 (Free Trade)

Henry John Saunders was born in London on 16 February 1855. He was the son of Thomas Bush Saunders, chief magistrate of Bradford-on-Avon, and his wife, Maria Albers, née Pedder. Saunders was a member of the Church of England, and was educated at Clifton College, Bristol. He then studied civil engineering, becoming an associate member of the Institute of Certified Engineers, London. Because of

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SCOTT, Malcolm Fox (1910–1989)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SCOTT, Malcolm Fox (1910–1989)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–71 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Malcolm Fox Scott, who entered federal politics at thirty-eight from a background in farming, business and local government, served for over twenty-one years in the Senate, two as Government Whip, and a further two as a minister. Malcolm was born on 11 May 1910, at Bridgetown, Western Australia, the second child and eldest son of Thomas Scott, a Scottish migrant, and Ada Margaretta, née

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SEWARD Harrie Stephen (1884–1958)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1951–58 (Australian Country Party)</span>

SEWARD Harrie Stephen (1884–1958)
Senator for Western Australia, 1951–58 (Australian Country Party)

Central to the career of Harrie Stephen Seward, bank manager and wheat farmer, was his concern with the politics of Western Australian wheat farming. Seward was born on 26 February 1884 at Rochester in Victoria, the son of Stephen Seward, farmer and shire secretary, and his wife Mary Ellen (Nellie), née Kelleher. Harrie was educated at St Patrick’s School in Ballarat, and in 1900

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SIM, John Peter (1917–2015) <br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1964–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

SIM, John Peter (1917–2015)
Senator for Western Australia, 1964–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)

John Peter Sim was born at Colac, Victoria, on 21 January 1917, one of twin sons born to John Percy Sim, farmer and grazier of Ondit, and his wife Grace Maria, formerly Plowman, born in Melbourne. Immigrants to Victoria from Scotland in the mid-19th century, the Sim family had been primary producers for many years, specialising in cattle and fat lambs. Peter, as he

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SMITH, Miles Staniforth Cater (1869–1934)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)</span>

SMITH, Miles Staniforth Cater (1869–1934)
Senator for Western Australia, 1901–06 (Free Trade)

Miles Staniforth Cater Smith, administrator, soldier, author, explorer and farmer, was a colourful and controversial character. Usually known as Staniforth Smith, he was born on 25 February 1869 at Kingston, Victoria, to English-born parents, William John Smith, a farmer, and Margaret Gomersall, née Charlesworth. After education at St Arnaud Grammar School, Smith studied engineering, for a time, at Melbourne University. Employed in the Melbourne

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TANGNEY, Dame Dorothy Margaret (1907–1985)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1943–68 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

TANGNEY, Dame Dorothy Margaret (1907–1985)
Senator for Western Australia, 1943–68 (Australian Labor Party)

In 1943 Dorothy Margaret Tangney became the first woman senator and the first Labor woman in either house of the federal Parliament. Tangney was born in North Perth, Western Australia, on 13 March 1907, though either through misinformation or artifice she provided 1911 as the year of her birth. She was the third of seven surviving children of Irish-born Eugene Tangney, timber mill worker

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THOMAS, Andrew Murray (1936–2011 )<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1975–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

THOMAS, Andrew Murray (1936–2011 )
Senator for Western Australia, 1975–83 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Andrew Murray Thomas was born at Blyth, South Australia, on 14 March 1936, the first of four children of Philip Murray Thomas and his wife Joy Gertrude, née Tiver. Educated at the one-teacher Stanley Flat School and at Clare High School from 1949 to 1951, he followed his father and grandfather to become a farmer and stud sheep breeder. He regularly accompanied his father

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VALLENTINE, Josephine (1946– )<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1985–92 (Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent; Greens WA)</span>

VALLENTINE, Josephine (1946– )
Senator for Western Australia, 1985–92 (Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent; Greens WA)

Josephine (Jo) Vallentine was born on 30 May 1946 in the wheatbelt town of Beverley, east of Perth, one of five children of Oswald Robert Vallentine, a farmer, and his wife Sylvia Cyclone, née Miles. Jo attributed her desire to make a difference in the world to several influences. She regarded both her grandfathers as ‘the types to make things happen’ and was impressed

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VINCENT, Victor Seddon (1906–1964)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1950–64 (Liberal Party of Australia)</span>

VINCENT, Victor Seddon (1906–1964)
Senator for Western Australia, 1950–64 (Liberal Party of Australia)

Victor Seddon Vincent, known as Seddon, was a Kalgoorlie-based lawyer, widely known and highly regarded throughout the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. He was an excellent speaker and incisive debater, with broad cultural interests. Vincent was born in the goldfields town of Leonora on 1 June 1906, and retained close ties to the goldfields for the rest of his life. His father, Victor Franklin

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WALSH, Peter Alexander (1935–2015)<br /><span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1974–93 (Australian Labor Party)

WALSH, Peter Alexander (1935–2015)
Senator for Western Australia, 1974–93 (Australian Labor Party)

Peter Alexander Walsh was born on 11 March 1935 at Kellerberrin in the central wheat belt of Western Australia. He was the second son of Robert Walsh and his wife, Dorothy, née Ray, both of whom had come from Victoria in 1930 to lease and work a wheat and sheep farm at Doodlakine, also in the WA wheat belt. Peter completed his primary schooling

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WHEELDON, John Murray (1929–2006)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1965–81 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WHEELDON, John Murray (1929–2006)
Senator for Western Australia, 1965–81 (Australian Labor Party)

Intellectual, lawyer, anti-war protestor, Labor senator, journalist and ‘Orwellian socialist with anarchist tendencies’, John Murray Wheeldon was born on 9 August 1929 at Subiaco, Perth. He was the son of Murray Walter Wheeldon, bank official, and Marjorie Lillian, née Cartwright, nurse and daughter of Tom Cartwright, prominent unionist and founding president of the Fremantle Trades Hall. Despite his maternal heritage, his early political direction

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WILKINSON, Lawrence Degenhardt (1903–1991)<br /> <span class=subheader>Senator for Western Australia, 1966–74 (Australian Labor Party)</span>

WILKINSON, Lawrence Degenhardt (1903–1991)
Senator for Western Australia, 1966–74 (Australian Labor Party)

Lawrence Degenhardt (Laurie) Wilkinson, telecommunications engineer, grazier and peace activist, was born in Fremantle on 12 November 1903, eldest of three children of Harold Wilkinson, secretary of the Fremantle Gas Company, and Lina Ellie Constance Wilkinson, née Degenhardt. Brought up in Beaconsfield on the fringes of Fremantle, Laurie was a student at Fremantle Boys’ School prior to winning a scholarship to Perth Modern School,

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