Charles Harper (15 July 1842 – 20 April 1912) was a pastoralist, newspaper proprietor and politician in colonial Western Australia.[2]
Biography
Early life
Charles Harper was born on 15 July 1842 at Nardi, near Toodyay in Western Australia. His father was Reverend Charles Harper, a Church of Englandminister, and his mother, Julia Gretchem Harper née Lukin.[1] He was educated privately.
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 Greysheep station, and was involved in the pearling industry until 1879.
On 27 October 1884, he entered parliament for the second time, having won the seat of York. In 1885, he built a home in Guildford, which he named Woodbridge House; 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 seat of Beverley in the Legislative Assembly. 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.
^ ab"Harper Family"(PDF), J S Battye Library of West Australian History : Private Archives – Collection Listing, State Library of Western Australia, 2002, retrieved 30 May 2016
^ Also known as:Harper, Charles, (of Woodbridge) (1842-1912); Harper, Charles, (Junior) (1842-1912); Harper, Charles, (Jr) (1842-1912) - from "Harper, Charles (1842-1912)", Trove, 2008, retrieved 27 January 2024
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.