George Stanyford Francis "Frank" Cowcher (30 December 1854 – 4 August 1925) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a 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 1904 to 1911, representing the seat of Williams. Cowcher was born in Barragup, a rural locality that is now a suburb of

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 census. Mandurah's ...

.George Stanyford Francis (Frank) Cowcher
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2016. From a farming background, he became prominent in agricultural circles himself, helping to found the Williams Agricultural Society for the improvement of agriculture in the Williams district."DEATH OF MR. G. S. F. COWCHER"
''Great Southern Leader'', 21 August 1925. Cowcher served on both the Wandering and Williams Road Boards at various stages, including as chairman of the latter. He entered parliament at the 1904 state election, winning 45.0 percent of the vote 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 ...

. He was subsequently re-elected with large majorities at the

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

and

1908 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1908. Africa * 1908 Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council election Australia * 1908 Adelaide by-election * 1908 Queensland state election Europe * 1908 Bulgarian parliamentary election *1908 Croati ...

, running as a Ministerialist. Prior to the 1911 election, Cowcher's seat was abolished and replaced with the seat of Williams-Narrogin. He attempted to move seats, but was defeated by

Bertie Johnston Edward Bertram Johnston (11 January 1880 – 6 September 1942), known as Bertie Johnston, was the Western Australian Legislative Assembly member for Williams-Narrogin from 1911 to 1928, and a Senator from 1929 until 1942. His resignation fr ...

of the Labor Party. He made one final run for parliament at the 1920 Legislative Council elections, but lost to James Greig in

South-East Province The South-East Province was an electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, introduced after the introduction of responsible government in the 1890s. It initially comprised Williams, Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( ...

. Cowcher died in Williams in August 1925, aged 70. He had married Emma Sophie Farmer in 1882, with whom he had four sons and four daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowcher, Frank 1854 births 1925 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers Australian people of English descent Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Mandurah Western Australian local councillors Colony of Western Australia people