Henry John Saunders (16 February 1855 – 13 October 1919) was an Australian engineer, businessman and politician. He was a prominent mining entrepreneur during the

Western Australian gold rush In the latter part of the nineteenth century, discoveries of gold at a number of locations in Western Australia caused large influxes of prospectors from overseas and interstate, and classic gold rushes. Significant finds included: * Halls Cr ...

and served on 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 ...

(1894–1902), as

mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Pe ...

(1895–1898), and briefly as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

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 ...

(1903).

Early life

Saunders was born on 16 February 1855 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, the son of Maria Albers (née Pedder) and Thomas Bush Saunders. His father was a barrister. He attended

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, then trained as a civil engineer. He immigrated to Western Australia in 1884 and settled 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 ...

. He became the chief engineer of the Midland Railway Company and established the firm of Saunders and Barrett. During the

, Saunders made a fortune as a mining entrepreneur. He floated the West Australian Goldfields Company in London in 1894 which paid a 40 percent

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...

in its first year. He was also involved with the Lady Shenton and Florence mines on the

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

goldfields. In 1900, Saunders acquired the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

mine which produced 34,813 ounces of gold over the next seven years. He also acquired pastoral leases around the mine and established

Leinster Downs Leinster Downs Station is a pastoral lease that once operated as a cattle station and now operates as a sheep station in Western Australia. Situated approximately north of Leinster and south of Wiluna in the Goldfields–Esperance region. ...

station.

Politics

Saunders was elected to the

Perth City Council 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 ...

in 1889 and served as

from 1895 to 1898. He first stood for parliament at the 1890 inaugural election for 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 in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

, but was defeated in the seat of

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

. In 1894 he was elected to the

to a two-year term in

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...

. He was re-elected to a six-year term in 1896 but defeated for re-election in 1902. At the inaugural 1901 federal election, Saunders was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate in Western Australia. He stood on a platform that included free trade,

White Australia The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

, conciliation and arbitration, old-age pensions, and women's suffrage. Be placed eighth on the statewide ballot with six seats to fill, and unsuccessfully petitioned for the election of Alec Matheson to be overturned on the grounds of bribery. On 20 May 1903 he was appointed to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

Senator for

, filling the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator

Norman Ewing Norman Kirkwood Ewing (26 December 1870 – 19 July 1928), Australian politician, was a member of three parliaments: the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the Australian Senate, and the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He became a Judge of ...

. He contested the 1903 election but was unsuccessful. In 1918 he returned to the Legislative Council, but he died in 1919 at St Omer's Private Hospital in West Perth.

Personal life

In 1887, Saunders married Elizabeth Shenton, the daughter of George Shenton Sr. and sister of

George Shenton Sir George Shenton (4 March 1842 – 29 June 1909) was a prominent businessman in colonial Western Australia, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for over thirty years. Early and family life G ...

. Their only child died in infancy and he was widowed in 1891. He remarried in 1893 to Julia Parthenia Davey, with whom he had two sons. From 1895, Saunders lived at

Henley Park Henley Park is a country house and landscape garden in Bix and Assendon civil parish in the Chiltern Hills of South Oxfordshire, England. The house is about north of Henley-on-Thames. The park adjoins the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. ...

, a property of on the Swan River north of

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 ...

. He bred horses, sheep,

Ayrshire cattle The Ayrshire (IPA ) is a Scottish breed of dairy cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the county of Ayrshire in south-western Scotland. Ayrshires typically have red and white markings; the red can range from a shade of orange to a dark ...

and pigs, serving as president of the

Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia The Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia (RASWA) was established 1831 in Western Australia. Early history It held its first annual agricultural show, the Fair and Cattle Show, at Guildford, Western Australia, Guildford on 7 November ...

. He died on 13 October 1919 at the age of 64 and was interred at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

1855 births 1919 deaths Free Trade Party members of the Parliament of Australia People educated at Clifton College Settlers of Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Mayors and Lord Mayors of Perth, Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from London Australian mining entrepreneurs {{Australia-FreeTrade-politician-stub