Charles John Moran (20 November 1868 – 18 December 1936) was an Australian politician who served in 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 1894 to 1901 and again from 1902 to 1905. He was a minister in the government of

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. Georg ...

Early life

Moran was born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, to Irish parents. He was educated at Catholic schools in Toowoomba and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, although he did not complete a degree there. Moran moved to Western Australia in 1890, and initially worked as an apprentice to architect

Andrea Stombuco Andrea Giovanni Stombuco (1820-1907) was an Italian-born Australian sculptor and architect. Many of the buildings he designed are listed on the heritage registers in Australia. Early life Andrea Stombuco travelled widely and was involved in vari ...

, superintending part of the construction of the General Post Office Building in

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 ...

. He left for the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the town ...

in 1893, working for a water supply contractor, and subsequently participated in the abortive

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

rush.

Politics

Moran stood for parliament at the 1894 general election, aged 25, and was elected to the new seat of Yilgarn. His opponent was

Lancel de Hamel Lancel Victor de Hamel (10 September 1849 – 25 November 1894) was a publisher, solicitor and politician who represented the people of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Early life De Hamel was born on 10 September 184 ...

, who had been in parliament since 1889. At the 1897 election, Moran transferred to the new seat of East Coolgardie. When George Throssell replaced 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 ...

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 ...

in early 1901, he was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands in his new ministry. However, Throssell's government lasted for little more than three months before he was replaced as premier 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 ...

, and Moran was not retained as a minister. At the 1901 election, the seat of East Coolgardie was abolished, and Moran unsuccessfully attempted to transfer to the new seat of Kalgoorlie. He was defeated by the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate, William Johnson. Later in the year, Moran also contested the West Kimberley by-election, but was defeated by

Sydney Pigott Sydney Capel Pigott (25 April 1867 – 29 April 1927) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1904, representing the seat of West Kimberley. Pigott was born i ...

. Moran eventually re-entered parliament at the 1902 West Perth by-election, which had been caused by the death of the premier, George Leake. He was re-elected at the 1904 state election, but at the 1905 election attempted to transfer to the seat of Perth. He was unsuccessful, losing to the sitting member, Harry Brown.

Later life

In 1907, Moran purchased a farm in Wagin (in the Great Southern region). He subsequently became prominent in agricultural circles, and was a trustee of the

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian full-service bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branch ...

from 1921 to 1930. Moran died in Perth in 1936, aged 68. He had married Elizabeth Healy on 28 August 1895, with whom he had three sons and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Charles 1868 births 1936 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Toowoomba