| The North Western Australia—Legislative Council | |
|---|---|
| State | Western Australia |
| Dates current | 1874–1890 |
The North, often known as North District or the Northern District, was an electoral district of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1874 to 1890, during the period when the Legislative Council was the sole chamber of the Parliament of Western Australia.
The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth.
The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Assembly, an upper house, the Legislative Council and the Queen, represented by the Governor of Western Australia. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth.
North District was created by the Legislative Council Amendment Act 1873 (37 Vict. No. 22), along with the Murray and Williams. It comprised all of Western Australia's territory above the 27th parallel south, which had previously belonged to the district of Geraldton. [1] With the passing of the Legislative Council Act Amendment Act 1882 (46 Vict. No. 24), the district was divided in two, with the portion south of Point Cloates being transferred to the new district of Gascoyne. At the same time, the North District gained an additional member. [2] The district's boundaries were again altered with the passing of the Legislative Council Act Amendment Act 1886 (50 Vict. No. 10), when the territory above 19° 30′ S was transferred to the new district of Kimberley. [3]
Murray and Williams was an electoral district of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1874 to 1890, during the period when the Legislative Council was the sole chamber of the Parliament of Western Australia.
The 27th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 27 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.
Geraldton was an electoral district of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1870 to 1890, during the period when the Legislative Council was the sole chamber of the Parliament of Western Australia.
Seven men represented North District in the Legislative Council between 1874 and 1890, with McKenzie Grant serving the longest (from 1880 to 1887). Three of the district's representatives went on to serve in the Legislative Assembly after the advent of responsible government in 1890 (Septimus Burt, Charles Harper, Alexander Richardson, and Horace Sholl), while Thomas Burges and McKenzie Grant continued on in the Legislative Council as nominated members. [4]
McKenzie Grant was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He owned or leased large quantities of land in Western Australia, especially in the North-West, and served in the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1880 to 1887 and again from 1889 to 1893.
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth.
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments in Westminster democracies are responsible to parliament rather than to the monarch, or, in a colonial context, to the imperial government, and in a republican context, to the president, either in full or in part. If the parliament is bicameral, then the government is responsible first to the parliament's lower house, which is more representative than the upper house, as it usually has more members and they are always directly elected.