Barrington Clarke Wood (9 May 1850 – 24 August 1903) was an Australian businessman and politician who served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia 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 Ass ...

. A minister in the governments 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 ...

and

George Throssell George Lionel Throssell (23 May 1840 – 30 August 1910) was the second Premier of Western Australia. He served for just three months, from 15 February to 27 May 1901, during a period of great instability in Western Australian politics. Geor ...

, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1894 to 1901, and then a member of the Legislative Council from 1902 until his death. Wood was born in

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 ...

, Western Australia, to Ellen (née Woodward) and George Wood. His father died when he was young, and his mother remarried in 1863 to Edward Newman, who was later elected to the Legislative Council. A merchant, Wood was elected to the Fremantle Town Council in 1875, and later served as

Mayor of Fremantle Fremantle, Western Australia 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 Austr ...

from 1883 to 1885. In 1888, he moved to

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 ...

, establishing his own auctioneering and land agency business.Barrington Clarke Wood
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 June 2016. He was elected to parliament at the 1894 general election, defeating the sitting member,

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 ...

, and a future MP,

Richard Haynes Richard Haynes may refer to: * Richard Haynes (cricketer) (1913–1976), English cricketer * Richard Haynes (lawyer) (1927–2017), American defense attorney * Richard Haynes (musician) (born 1983), Australian clarinettist * Richard Septimus Hay ...

, in the seat of West Perth. Wood was re-elected at the 1897 election, and in 1900 replaced Frederick Piesse as Commissioner for Railways and Director of Public Works in the government of Sir John Forrest. He continued on in those positions when George Throssell became premier in February 1901. At the 1901 general election, Wood was defeated in West Perth by

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 ...

, who succeeded George Throssell as

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 ...

just over a month later. He attempted to re-enter parliament at the 1901 West Kimberley by-election, but lost to Sydney Pigott. In 1902, Wood was elected to the Legislative Council, defeating James Speed in

Metropolitan-Suburban Province The Metropolitan-Suburban Province was a three-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the metropolitan region of Perth. It was created by the ''Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899'', and became effect ...

. He served until his sudden death in August 1903, which occurred while on a holiday to

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

. He had been walking back to his lodgings from a day at the beach when he collapsed on the roadside (presumably due to heart failure), and his body was not found until the following morning."SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. B.C. WOOD, M.L.C."
'' The Western Mail'', 29 August 1903. Wood had married Mary Louisa Whitfield in 1879, with whom he had four children. One of his sons,

Garnet Wood Garnet Barrington Wood (1 July 1888 – 3 January 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Country Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1936 until his death. He was a minister in the government of Ross Mc ...

, was also a member of parliament, and also died in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Barrington 1850 births 1903 deaths Australian merchants Mayors of Fremantle Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Fremantle 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople Western Australian local councillors

See also

References