Sir Charles George Latham (26 January 1882 – 26 August 1968), often shortened to simply C. G. Latham, was an Australian politician, former

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 ...

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 ...

and the 10th

President of the Western Australian Legislative Council The President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, also known as the Presiding Officer of the Council, is the presiding officer of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia. The po ...

. Latham served over twelve years as leader of the state's Country Party, and over thirty years in 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 ...

. Latham also served roughly ten months in the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

, as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for Western Australia.

Biography

Latham was born in

Hythe, Kent Hythe () is a coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the district of Folkestone and Hythe on the south coast of Kent. The word ''Hythe'' or ''Hithe'' is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place. History The town has m ...

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, and became an orphan before the age of 8 when his parents Thomas Latham (a

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

) and Isabella (née Isum) died. Latham moved to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with his siblings in 1890 and married Marie Louisa von Allwörden on 24 June 1903 at

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

in the same state. In 1910, Latham moved to

to take up of land at East Kumminin (now Narembeen),

east 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 Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

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 ...

. In his early farming days, he was unsuccessful, but was not deterred by the 1914 drought and owned of land in 1921 when he entered

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In 1916 Latham enlisted in the entirely volunteer-run

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

and was promoted to the rank of

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in January 1917. He was wounded in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in March 1918. Latham was promoted

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 1919 and was discharged in May of that year.

Political career

Latham became the Country Party (now National Party) candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of York in 1921 and became a MLA following this endorsement. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Latham was a member of the Bruce Rock Road Board before the war, but upon his return to Australia he became the chairman of the Narembeen Road Board in 1924. In 1930 Latham became the parliamentary leader of the Country Party and fervently rallied for farmers' rights. Later that year he joined the Party with the Nationalist Party and served as deputy Premier of Western Australia under James Mitchell from 1930 to 1933. From 1933 onwards, Latham was the

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 ...

until 1942, when he resigned to fill a vacancy in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

but lost the 1943 election. Latham then returned to Parliament in 1946 to serve as a Member of the Legislative Council, became Minister for Agriculture in 1952–53 and retired in 1960, after another two years as the President of the Legislative Council. Latham died on 26 August 1968 and was cremated at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

Notes Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Charles 1882 births 1968 deaths Deputy Premiers of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Knights Bachelor People from Hythe, Kent English emigrants to Australia Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians

Biography

Political career

See also

References