William James George

The Honourable
William George
CMG
Member of the Legislative Assembly
of Western Australia
In office
12 February 1895  1 July 1902
Preceded by William Paterson
Succeeded by William Atkins
Constituency Murray
In office
4 February 1909  3 October 1911
Preceded by John McLarty
Succeeded by None (abolished)
Constituency Murray
In office
3 October 1911  12 April 1930
Preceded by None (new creation)
Succeeded by Ross McLarty
Constituency Murray-Wellington
Personal details
Born (1853-01-26)26 January 1853
West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England
Died 10 March 1931(1931-03-10) (aged 78)
Claremont, Western Australia, Australia
Political party Nationalist

William James George CMG (26 January 1853 – 10 March 1931) was an Australian engineer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1895 to 1902 and again from 1909 to 1930. He was a minister in the governments of Frank Wilson, Henry Lefroy, Hal Colebatch, and James Mitchell.

George was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England, to Eleanor (née Sheldon) and Henry Wellington George. He studied mechanical engineering at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, and emigrated to Australia in 1884, initially settling in Victoria. George moved to Western Australia in 1891, where he initially managed a timber plantation at Jarrahdale. He later opened a foundry in Perth, and was involved in the construction of the Victoria Dam, as well as the extensions of the Northern Railway to Mullewa and the South Western Railway to Bunbury. In 1894, George was elected to the Perth City Council, serving as a councillor until 1898.[1] He ran for parliament later in the year, contesting the seat of Murray at the 1894 general election. He lost to William Paterson, but Paterson resigned the following year, and George won the resulting by-election.[2]

Standing as an opponent of the governments of Sir John Forrest and George Leake, George was re-elected at the 1897 and 1901 elections.[2] He resigned from parliament in 1902, and was subsequently appointed commissioner of railways, serving in that position until 1907.[1] George first attempted to re-enter parliament at the 1908 general election, but was defeated by the sitting member for Murray, John McLarty. However, McLarty died the following year, and George won the by-election occasioned by his death, making him one of the few MPs in Western Australia to win multiple by-elections for the same seat.[2] In 1916, George was appointed Minister for Works in the ministry of Frank Wilson. He remained Minister for Works when Henry Lefroy replaced Wilson as premier in 1917, and was also made Minister for Water Supply. George retained his portfolios during Hal Colebatch's brief period as premier in 1919, and also under James Mitchell.[1]

In 1920, George was responsible for organising the tour of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) to Western Australia, and the following year he was made a Commander of the Order of St George and St Michael (CMG).[3] He remained a minister until the Nationalist Party was defeated at the 1924 state election, and eventually left parliament at the 1930 election. George died in Perth in March 1931, aged 78. He had married Mary Ann Nelson in 1891, with whom he had three sons and a daughter.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 William James George – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Black, David; Prescott, Valerie (1997). Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996. Perth, [W.A.]: Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission. ISBN 0730984095.
  3. Manford, Toby (1981). "George, William James (1853–1931)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 8. Canberra: Australian National University.
Parliament of Western Australia
Preceded by
William Paterson
John McLarty
Member for Murray
1895–1902
1909–1911
Succeeded by
William Atkins
None (abolished)
New creation Member for Murray-Wellington
1911–1930
Succeeded by
Ross McLarty
Political offices
Preceded by
William Angwin
Minister for Works
1916–1924
Succeeded by
Alick McCallum
Preceded by
James Mitchell
Minister for Water Supply
1917–1924
Succeeded by
Alick McCallum
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