Douglas George Gawler (9 November 1860 – 6 May 1915) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council 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 1910 until his death, representing

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 ...

. Gawler was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, to Caroline (née Philpot) and Henry Gawler. His grandfather,

George Gawler Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841. Biography Early life Gawler, born on 21 ...

, was the second

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

. Gawler attended

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

, and then studied law at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Gawler was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in South Australia in 1886, and left for Western Australia later that year, establishing his own firm 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 ...

. At one time, he was in partnership with

Robert Bruce Burnside Robert Bruce Burnside (22 April 1862 – 8 August 1929) was an Australian barrister and judge. He served on the Supreme Court of Western Australia from December 1902 until his death. Burnside was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to Mary Elizabeth (née ...

, a future

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice. Having previously served on the Peppermint Grove Road Board for a period, Gawler was elected to parliament at a 1910 Legislative Council by-election, which had been caused by the resignation of

Walter Kingsmill Sir Walter Kingsmill (10 April 1864 – 15 January 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1923 to 1935. He was President of the Senate from 1929 to 1932. Early life Kingsmill was born on 10 Ap ...

.Douglas George Gawler
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2016. He died in office in May 1915 (aged 54), of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

."DEATH OF MR. D. G. GAWLER, M.L.C."
'' The Western Mail'', 21 May 1915. He had married Eva Mary Waldeck in 1893, with whom he had four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gawler, Douglas 1860 births 1915 deaths Australian barristers Australian people of English descent Deaths from typhoid fever Infectious disease deaths in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Politicians from Adelaide Lawyers from Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Western Australian local councillors Colony of South Australia people