Sir Frank Ernest Gibson (11 July 1878 – 31 December 1965) was an Australian politician. Born at Egerton,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, to Irish-born policeman Alexander Gibson and Louisa Herring, he attended Grenville College and the School of Mines at Ballarat before moving to

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 ...

as a qualified pharmacist, setting up a business in Leonora in 1909. He married Jean Rodger Dunkley on 10 August 1911 at Kalgoorlie. In 1914 he moved to Fremantle, of which he was mayor for twenty-nine years (1919–23, 1926–51). Gibson gave his official farewell speech on 19 November 1951 at last council meeting before the elections were held on 24 November, where William F Samson was elected unopposed as mayor. In 1921 he was elected to the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

as the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

member for Fremantle; he was defeated in 1924. He was later a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

from 1942 to 1956, in 1945 being one of the foundation members of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was knighted in 1948. Later in life Gibson and his wife resided at the Orient Hotel, he died in hospital at

Shenton Park Shenton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sutton Cheney, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, situated south-west of Market Bosworth. Shenton was formerly a chapelry an ...

on 31 December 1965. Frank Gibson Park, a netball facility in Fremantle, is named after him.

References

1878 births 1965 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Knights Bachelor People from Victoria (Australia) Australian pharmacists Federation University Australia alumni Mayors of Fremantle {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub