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Elections were held in the Colony of Western Australia in June and July 1894 to elect 33 members to the Legislative Assembly. Less than half of the seats were contested and virtually all campaigns were fought on local issues, although a few candidates were endorsed by extraparliamentary organisations. The election presented no threat to the government of Sir John Forrest, but its aftermath saw the establishment of a credible opposition for the first time, led by George Randell.
Only 15 out of the 33 seats were contested at the election, although this represented an increase of four from the 1890 election. Five of the six seats in Perth and Fremantle were contested, the exception being South Fremantle, where Elias Solomon was returned unopposed. [1] In Perth, the major campaign issue was education – in particular, whether Catholic schools should be funded by the state. Two extraparliamentary organisations were established on either side of the debate, with the Education Defence League (led by Thomas Molloy and Timothy Quinlan) in favour and the National Education League (led by George Randell) opposed. Both leagues endorsed candidates in the three Perth electorates, with all three pro-Catholic candidates being defeated. [2] In North Fremantle, one of the candidates, George Baker, was endorsed by the Progressive Political League (PPL), which was the political arm of the Trades and Labour Council (and a forerunner of the Labor Party). Other PPL members had been unable to meet the property qualifications necessary to stand. [3]
After the election, George Randell was chosen as Leader of the Opposition, and had this status acknowledged by Forrest. Other prominent figures in the opposition were William Loton and George Leake, and there was much variation in the leadership of the opposition in the years leading up to the 1897 election. [3]
The Wheatbelt is one of nine regions of Western Australia defined as administrative areas for the state's regional development, and a vernacular term for the area converted to agriculture during colonisation. It partially surrounds the Perth metropolitan area, extending north from Perth to the Mid West region, and east to the Goldfields-Esperance region. It is bordered to the south by the South West and Great Southern regions, and to the west by the Indian Ocean, the Perth metropolitan area, and the Peel region. Altogether, it has an area of 154,862 square kilometres (59,793 sq mi).
North West Coastal Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the coastal city of Geraldton with the town of Port Hedland. The 1,300-kilometre-long (808 mi) road, constructed as a sealed two-lane single carriageway, travels through remote and largely arid landscapes. Carnarvon is the only large settlement on the highway, and is an oasis within the harsh surrounding environment. The entire highway is allocated National Route 1, part of Australia's Highway 1, and parts of the highway are included in tourist routes Batavia Coast Tourist Way and Cossack Tourist Way. Economically, North West Coastal Highway is an important link to the Mid West, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions, supporting the agricultural, pastoral, fishing, and tourism industries, as well as mining and offshore oil and gas production.
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly is elected from 59 single-member electoral districts. These districts are often referred to as electorates or seats.
The Electoral district of Pilbara is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Pilbara is named for the region of Western Australia in which it is located. It is one of the oldest electorates in Western Australia, with its first member having been elected to the Second Parliament of the Legislative Assembly at the 1894 elections.
Edward Timothy Hooley, usually known as E. T. Hooley or Tim Hooley, was an explorer in Western Australia, who in 1866 pioneered an overland stock route from Geraldton to the Ashburton River. He entered politics in later life, serving nearly three years as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, then nearly six years in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.
Railways in Western Australia were developed in the 19th century both by the Government of Western Australia and a number of private companies. Today passenger rail services are controlled by the Public Transport Authority through Transperth, which operates public transport in Perth, and Transwa, which operates country passenger services. Great Southern Rail operates the Indian Pacific.
Pilbara newspapers is a selection of newspapers published in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoining parts of the Northern Territory (NT) – or even the entire NT.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1890 elections and the 1894 elections, known as the First Parliament. They held office under the Constitution Act 1889, which was given royal assent by Queen Victoria on 15 August 1890 and took effect on 21 October 1890 with a proclamation by the new Governor of Western Australia, Sir William Robinson.
Western Australia has the longest coastline of any state or territory in Australia, at 10,194 km or 12,889 km. It is a significant portion of the coastline of Australia, which is 35,877 km.
The following is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1897 elections and the 1901 elections, together known as the Third Parliament.
This is a list of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between the 1901 election and the 1904 election, together known as the Fourth Parliament.
A secession referendum was held on 8 April 1933 in the Australian state of Western Australia, on the proposal that the state withdraw from the Australian Federation. The proposal won a majority of the votes and a petition to give effect to the decision was subsequently sent to the British Parliament, where a parliamentary joint select committee ruled it invalid.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, discoveries of gold at a number of locations in Western Australia caused large influxes of prospectors from overseas and interstate, and classic gold rushes. Significant finds included:
The 1900 Western Australian floods were a series of flooding events from March to May 1900 that affected large areas of Western Australia, primarily in the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions, though it extended to cover most of the state except the more humid Kimberley and South West regions.
Western Australian Government Railways railway system during its peak operational time in the 1930s to 1950s was a large system of over 6,400 kilometres (4,000 mi) of railway line.
Highways and main roads in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia form the basis of a road network, which is primarily used by the mining, agriculture, and tourism industries. Main Roads Western Australia maintains and controls these major roads, with offices based in Northam and Narrogin.
Elections were held in the Colony of Western Australia in December 1890 to elect 30 members to the Legislative Assembly. They were the first elections to be held for the Legislative Assembly, which had been created earlier in the year by a new constitution that granted Western Australia responsible self-government.
Trevarton Charles Sholl was an explorer of North-West Australia and government official. During the 1860s, he undertook expeditions to the regions known later as the Kimberley and Pilbara. In March 1867, at the age of 21, Sholl was lost at sea and presumed dead, when the schooner Emma disappeared, during a storm.
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