Hugh Lewis Roche (5 November 1893 – 15 July 1962) was an Australian politician who served as a Country Party member of the Legislative Council 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 1940 to 1960. Roche was born in

York, Western Australia York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated on the Avon River, east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, on Ballardong Nyoongar land,King, A and Parker, E: York, Western Australia's first inland town, Parker Print, 2003 p.3. and is ...

, to Maria Josephine (née Lockyer) and Hugh Henry Roche. He completed his early schooling in York before boarding at

Christian Brothers' College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the college was a ...

. Roche enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January 1915, and during the war served with the 10th Light Horse, reaching the rank of

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

by the war's end. He was discharged in February 1920, and worked in Perth as a clerk for a period before going to farm in Kojonup. He served on the Kojonup Road Board from 1926 to 1940. Roche entered parliament at the 1940 Legislative Council elections, replacing

Charles Wittenoom Charles Horne Wittenoon (6 December 1879 – 18 September 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for twelve years. Born in Geraldton, Western Australia on 6 December 1879, he was the so ...

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 ( ...

. He was re-elected in 1948, appointed to South Province in 1950 after a reconstitution, and then re-elected again in 1954. Roche left parliament in 1960 and died in Perth in July 1962, aged 68. He had married Mariane Florence Reid in 1944, but had no children.Hugh Lewis Roche
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 12 June 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Hugh 1893 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from York, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors