Arthur Courthope Gull (1 January 1867 – 30 March 1951) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1905 to 1908, representing the seat of Swan. He ran for parliament on five occasions, but was only elected once. Gull was born in

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

, to Annie (née Dempster) and Thomas Courthope Gull.Arthur Courthope Gull
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 June 2016. His father, a prominent merchant and briefly a member of parliament, died when he was ten years old, while two uncles,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

and Charles Edward Dempster, were also MPs.Thomas Courthope Gull
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 June 2016. Gull initially attended the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 ...

, but was later sent to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to board at Hawthorn Grammar School (run by

Martin Howy Irving Martin Howy Irving (21 February 1831 – 23 January 1912) was an English rower and educationist who spent nearly all his career in Australia . Background and early career Irving was born in St Pancras, London, the son of Edward Irving, a major f ...

). On his return to Western Australia, he went to the

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

, spending two years as a jackaroo. Gull later lived for periods in Perth (working as a bank clerk) and on the Eastern Goldfields, eventually settling on a property in

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

(near Guildford). At the 1901 state election, Gull stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for the seat of Guildford, but lost to

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

(a future

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

). He also stood against Rason at the 1902 Guildford by-election (a

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Hous ...

), but was again defeated. At the 1905 state election, Gull won the seat of Swan, defeating the sitting

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

Mathieson Jacoby Mathieson Harry Jacoby (1 July 1869 – 3 April 1915) was an Australian politician who twice represented the seat of Swan in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, from 1901 to 1905 and then again from 1908 to 1911. He was Speaker of t ...

. His time in parliament was short-lived, however, as Jacoby won Swan back at the 1908 election. In 1909, Gull moved to a property in Serpentine. He contested the seat of Canning at the 1914 election, but was defeated by Robert Robinson. Gull eventually retired to Perth, dying there in March 1951 (aged 84).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gull, Arthur 1867 births 1951 deaths Australian people of English descent Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Hale School Politicians from Perth, Western Australia