Charles McDowall (c. 1862 – 13 July 1916) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a Labor Party 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 1908 until his death, representing the seat of Coolgardie.

Early life

McDowall was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, Victoria, to Bridget (née Devine) and Charles McDowall. He and his parents moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

when he was a small child, but after 18 years in New Zealand he returned to Australia in 1884, living in

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 ...

. He worked as a real estate agent, and in 1891 served on the Nunawading Shire Council. McDowall came to Western Australia in 1896, settling in Coolgardie. He served on the Coolgardie Municipal Council from 1901 to 1904, and then as mayor from 1904 to 1906. He also briefly served as president of the state branch of the

Australian Natives Association The Australian Natives' Association (ANA) was a mutual society founded in Melbourne, Australia in April 1871. It was founded by and for the benefit of native-born white Australians and membership was restricted exclusively to that group. The A ...

(ANA), with which he had been involved in Victoria.Charles McDowall
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

Politics

McDowall first ran for parliament at the 1901 state election, contesting the seat of Mount Burges as an Oppositionist (an opponent of the government of George Throssell). He was defeated by

Fergie Reid Fergie Reid (1849 – 18 November 1924) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1904, representing the seat of Mount Burges. Reid was born in ...

, the endorsed Labor candidate. At the 1904 Legislative Council elections, McDowall was the endorsed Labor candidate for South Province, but was defeated by

William Oats William Oats (27 October 1841 – 25 April 1911) was an Australian mining engineer and politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1897 to 1904 and a member of the ...

. At the 1905 state election, McDowall defeated the sitting member in Coolgardie,

Henry Ellis Henry Ellis may refer to: * Henry Augustus Ellis (1861–1939), Irish Australian physician and federalist * Henry Ellis (diplomat) (1788–1855), British diplomat * Henry Ellis (governor) (1721–1806), explorer, author, and second colonial Gover ...

, for Labor preselection. Ellis subsequently ran 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 ...

, and their candidacies split the Labor vote, allowing Ministerialist William Eddy to win the election by 23 votes. However, the election was declared void on petition in May 1906, due to voting irregularities. McDowall was the sole Labor candidate at the resulting by-election, but was again unsuccessful, finishing with 47.5 percent of the vote. He had received an endorsement from the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

organisation) before the election, and this was believed to have caused a number of Catholics to shift their vote. McDowall eventually entered parliament at the 1908 state election, defeating Eddy in Coolgardie with 60.1 percent of the vote. He was re-elected at the

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and 1914 elections, at the latter being returned unopposed. McDowall remained an MP until his death in July 1916. He died suddenly at his home in West Perth, the cause being given as Bright's disease."DEATH OF MR. MCDOWALL."
''The West Australian'', 14 July 1916. He had married a widow, Rebecca Chescoe (née Avery) in 1893, with whom he had four children.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowall, Charles 1860s births 1916 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Deaths from kidney disease Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Ballarat Victoria (state) local councillors 19th-century New Zealand people Western Australian local councillors Australian emigrants to New Zealand