Hugh Alexander Gourley (30 July 1875 – ?) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party 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 1908 to 1911, representing the seat of Mount Leonora. Gourley was born in

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 ...

, the son of Annie Jane (née Coote) and Gilbert Gourley. He came to Western Australia in 1898, during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

, and settled in

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 ...

, where he worked for periods as a gold miner, greengrocer, and fuel merchant. Gourley was a secretary of the Menzies Miners' Union and served two terms on the Menzies Municipal Council, as well as sitting on the North Coolgardie Road Board.Hugh Alexander Gourley
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2017. He entered parliament at the 1908 state election, winning Labor

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

only after the sitting member, Julian Stuart, failed to lodge his deposit in time. Prior to the 1911 election, Gourley was defeated for preselection by

George Foley George James Foley (28 November 1872 – 27 October 1945) was an Australian politician from Western Australia. He was the member for the Western Australian seat of Electoral district of Mount Leonora, Mount Leonora from 1911 until 1920, initial ...

. He placed only sixth on the preselection ballot."LEONORA LABORITES"
''Truth'', 29 July 1911. After leaving parliament, Gourley worked as a land agent 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 ...

for a few years. Nothing definite is known of his life after 1913, although someone with the same name stood for office in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in 1927, indicating he may have moved to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourley, Hugh 1875 births Year of death missing Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian trade unionists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Victoria (state) Western Australian local councillors