Charles Harper (politician)

Charles Harper
Born	July 15, 1842 Nardi, Western Australia, Australia
Died	April 20, 1912 Guildford, Western Australia, Australia
Resting place	Karrakatta Cemetery
Nationality	English
Education	Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation	Farmer Newspaper owner Politician
Spouse(s)	Fanny de Burgh
Children	6 sons 4 daughters
Parents	Charles Harper Julie Gretchen (Lukin) Harper
Relatives	Henry Brockman (brother-in-law) James Morrison (brother-in-law)

Charles Harper (15 July 1842 – 20 April 1912) was a pastoralist, newspaper proprietor and politician in colonial Western Australia.

Biography

Early life

Charles Harper was born on July 15, 1842 in Nardi, near Toodyay in Western Australia. His father was Reverend Charles Harper, a Church of England minister, and his mother, Julie Gretchen Harper née Lukin. He was educated privately.

Pastoral career

He took up farming in Beverley, Western Australia. In 1861 and again in 1864, he explored with other pioneers in the Yilgarn district.

From 1866, he was heavily involved in the pastoral industry. He was a pastoralist in the north-west of the state until 1868, overlanding to Geraldton in 1867 to secure provisions for Roebourne. From 1868 to 1870, he was involved in the pearling industry. He then briefly farmed at Beverley, before returning to the north west in 1871. He went into partnership with McKenzie Grant and Edgar in a de Grey sheep station, and was involved in the pearling industry until 1879.

Political career

On 28 March 1878, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council for the North District seat, in a by-election occasioned by the resignation of Thomas Burges. He held the seat until the election of 12 March 1880, which he did not contest. On 1 March 1879, he married Fanny de Burgh, thereby becoming brother-in-law to Henry Brockman and James Morrison. They would have six sons and four daughters.

In 1880, he partnered with Alexander McRae in a pastoral venture on the Ashburton. That year, he also became a newspaper proprietor for the first time, becoming part owner of the Western Australian Times with John Winthrop Hackett. In 1884, these two men became joint owners of The West Australian. In 1885, they commenced the publication of the first Western Mail.

On 27 October 1884, he entered parliament for the second time, having won the Legislative Council seat of York. In 1885, he built a house in Guildford, which he named Woodbridge; the house still stands and is now part of the National Trust. In 1887, he was a member of the Agricultural Commission.

He held his Legislative Council seat until 21 October 1890, at which time the Legislative Council became fully nominative. He then contested and won the Legislative Assembly seat of Beverley. From June 1894, he was Father of the House in the Legislative Assembly. In 1895 he opened a school at Guildford, which would later be taken over by the Church of England as Guildford Grammar School. He was appointed Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Assembly on 24 August 1897, holding the appointment until 2 December 1903, when he took up an appointment as Speaker. He stepped down as Speaker on 28 July 1904, and from his seat on 27 October 1905. In 1905, he was chairman of the Immigration Commission.

Death

He died at Woodbridge on April 20, 1912, and was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.^[1]

Notes

References

• Black, David and Bolton, Geoffrey (2001). Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia, Volume One, 1870–1930 (Revised Edition ed.). Parliament House: Parliament of Western Australia. ISBN 0730738140. 
• Kimberly, W.B. (compiler) (1897). History of West Australia. A Narrative of her Past. Together With Biographies of Her Leading Men. Melbourne: F.W. Niven. 

Further reading

• Mercer, F. R. (1958). The Life of Charles Harper of Woodbridge. Perth: Westralian Farmers Co-operative Printing Works.