Charles Crowther (1831 – 17 March 1894) was a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council 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 ...

from 1873 to 1887. Born in

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, in 1834, nothing is known of his ancestry or early life. In December 1850 he arrived in

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 ...

on board the ''Mary'', obtaining employment in the firm of

George Shenton Sr George Shenton (2 January 1811 – 25 March 1867) was a pharmacist, merchant, banker and philanthropist in colonial Perth, Western Australia. Biography Early life George Shenton was born in Winchester, England on 2 January 1811. He was the ...

. Between 1855 and 1857 he worked for Robert Habgood, before returning to Shenton's employment as manager of his

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. ...

business. When Shenton died in 1867, Crowther purchased his business at Geraldton. Later, he purchased and ran the Greenough Hotel. Crowther became increasingly involved in Geraldton's public and political life from 1871, when he was first elected to the Geraldton Municipal Council. In 1872, he ran the

seat of Greenough

election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

for his friend George Shenton Jr, who was absent from the colony at the time. On the evening after the election Crowther held a supper and ball for Shenton's supporters. Although "treating the electors" was a common practice at the time, Shenton's opponent

Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born i ...

lodged a complaint alleging that Crowther had bribed the electorate. In July 1873, the Supreme Court upheld Gray's complaint, finding that Crowther's actions might have induced electors to vote for Shenton. No blame was attached to Shenton, but the election was declared void and a new

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

ordered for 29 June 1873. Shenton then declined to stand for election again, so Crowther resigned his seat on the local council and contested the Legislative Council seat himself, heavily defeating Gray. In 1875, Crowther joined Samuel Mitchell in an unsuccessful

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine venture. That year he also returned to the Geraldton Municipal Council as its chairman. He resigned from the council in 1876, but served on it again in 1878 and 1879. In 1881 he became the first Mayor of Geraldton. He also acted as resident magistrate and chairman of

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

for the district. He resigned as member for Greenough on 29 April 1887. When the Legislative Council became nominative on the advent of

responsible government 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 (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

in December 1890, Crowther declined a nomination. He again declined a nomination in August 1893. He died, unmarried, at Geraldton on 17 March 1894.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Charles 1831 births 1894 deaths Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council 19th-century Australian politicians Western Australian local councillors