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Frederick Henry Piesse,
Frederick Henry Piesse, CMG
CMG may refer to:
Companies
* Capitol Music Group, a music label
* China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC
* China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector
* ...
(6 December 185329 June 1912) was a farmer, businessman and politician who is credited with much of the early development of the region around Katanning, Western Australia.
Piesse was born at Northam, Western Australia, on 6 December 1853. The son of policeman and magistrate William Roper Piesse and Elizabeth Ellen née Oxley, among his brothers were Alfred, Arnold
Arnold may refer to:
People
* Arnold (given name), a masculine given name
* Arnold (surname), a German and English surname
Places Australia
* Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria
Canada
* Arnold, Nova Scotia
Uni ...
and Charles Piesse, all of whom followed Frederick into politics. Piesse was educated at state schools at Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
and Northam, and began his working life at the Northam general store. Later he went pearl fishing at Shark Bay
Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...
between 1872 and 1875. He was postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
and telegraphist at Williams between 1875 and 1880. On 18 October 1877 he married Mary Jane Elizabeth Chipper, with whom he had four sons and a daughter.
In 1880, Piesse partnered with his brother Charles to launch the general produce firm of F. & C. Piesse at Williams. He set up a portable store in 1886, and followed the progress of the Great Southern Railway, finishing up at Katanning. He then bought agricultural land near the railway and in 1891 built a flour mill in Katanning. He established a wine industry, making wines that won awards in Perth, London and Paris. An 1892 newspaper article described in detail a orchard Piesse had created near to the township of Katanning which contained 2300 trees.
From 1880 onwards, Piesse became increasingly involved in public affairs. He was a member of the Williams Road Board from 1880 to 1889, and its chairman from 1886. In 1889 he became a Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, and from 1889 to 1896 he was on the Katanning Road Board. From January 1894 to June 1896 he was also a member of the Board of Agriculture.
At the 1890 election, Piesse was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Williams, becoming a member of the first Parliament of Western Australia under 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 ...
. From 1 April 1896 to 23 August 1900, he was Commissioner for Railways and Director of Public Works in the Forrest Ministry
The Forrest Ministry was the first government ministry in Western Australia, after the inauguration of responsible government. It was in government from 29 December 1890 to 14 February 1901, when it was succeeded by the Throssell Ministry followi ...
. He was a Western Australian delegate to the Federal Convention of 1897, and for a period in 1900 he was Acting Premier of Western Australia. During George Leake's first premiership from June to November 1901, Piesse was 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 ...
.
In the 1904 election, Piesse stood for and won the new seat of Katanning. He held the seat until his resignation on 26 October 1909. For his last four years in parliament he was Father of the House
Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...
. Piesse was made a CMG
CMG may refer to:
Companies
* Capitol Music Group, a music label
* China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC
* China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector
* ...
in 1907.
He died at Katanning on , and was buried in Katanning Cemetery.
A son, Harold, was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, while a nephew, Edmund Piesse
Edmund Stephen Roper Piesse (5 January 1900 – 25 August 1952) was an Australian politician who represented Western Australia in the Senate from 1950 until his death. He was a member of the Country Party.
Piesse was born in Katanning, W ...
was a Senator for Western Australia.
References