Elections were held in the

Colony of Western Australia In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

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 Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

, but its aftermath saw the establishment of a credible

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

for the first time, led by

George Randell George Randell (5 October 1830 – 2 June 1915) was an Australian businessman and politician. He served intermittently in the Parliament of Western Australia between 1875 and 1910, including as a minister in the government of Sir John Forrest. ...

Timeline

;Close of nominations * 12 June:

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, West Perth * 13 June:

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Moore,

North Fremantle North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, South Fremantle * 14 June: Bunbury,

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Roebourne, Williams * 15 June:

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

* 16 June: Greenough, Toodyay * 18 June: Albany,

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County, Pe ...

, Northam * 19 June: Ashburton,

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

* 21 June:

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

* 22 June: East Kimberley,

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

, West Kimberley, Yilgarn * 23 June:

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

, De Grey * 25 June: Murchison, Nannine ;Polling day * 14 June: East Perth, Perth, West Perth * 15 June: Fremantle, North Fremantle, South Fremantle * 18 June: Murray, Roebourne, Swan * 19 June: Bunbury, Geraldton * 20 June: Nelson, Plantagenet, Sussex, Toodyay, Wellington, Williams * 21 June: Greenough * 22 June: Albany, Northam * 25 June: Irwin, Moore, York * 27 June: Beverley * 29 June: Ashburton, De Grey, Gascoyne * 3 July: East Kimberley, Murchison, Nannine, Pilbara, West Kimberley, Yilgarn

Campaign and results

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 Elias Solomon (2 September 1839 – 23 May 1909) was an Australian politician based in Fremantle. He was Mayor of Fremantle, MLA for South Fremantle, and the first Member for Fremantle in the Australian House of Representatives. Early life ...

was returned unopposed. 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 Timothy Francis Quinlan KSS (18 February 1861 – 8 July 1927) was an Irish-born Australian politician who represented the electorates of West Perth and Toodyay in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between 1890 and 1894, and 18 ...

) in favour and the National Education League (led by

) opposed. Both leagues endorsed candidates in the three Perth electorates, with all three pro-Catholic candidates being defeated. In

, 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.De Garis, p. 73.

Aftermath

After the election,

was chosen as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, and had this status acknowledged by Forrest. Other prominent figures in the opposition were

William Loton Sir William Thorley Loton (11 June 1838 – 22 October 1924), was an Australian politician. Early life Born at Dilhorne in Staffordshire, England on 11 June 1838,Pat Simpson, 'Loton, Sir William Thorley (1838–1924)', Australian Dictionary of ...

and

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying l ...

, and there was much variation in the leadership of the opposition in the years leading up to the 1897 election.De Garis, p. 73.

References

{{Western Australian elections 1894 elections in Australia Elections in Western Australia June 1894 events July 1894 events 1890s in Western Australia