Henry Carson (31 December 1866 – 31 July 1948) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1904 to 1906 and from 1908 to 1911, and as a member of the Legislative Council from 1914 to 1920. He stood for parliament twelve times in total, but won election only four times. Carson was born in

Guildford, Western Australia Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...

, to Charlotte (née Hadley) and George Carson. Having previously worked as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

,Henry Carson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 June 2016. he was first elected to parliament at the 1904 state election, winning the seat of Geraldton. At the 1905 election, Carson was re-elected by a margin of six votes, defeating the Labor Party's Thomas Brown. However, in October 1906, following a petition, the election was vacated by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on the grounds of voting irregularities. The resulting by-election was won by Brown. From 1907 to 1908, Carson served on the Geraldton Municipal Council. He attempted to return to parliament at the 1908 Legislative Council election, but was defeated by Con O'Brien in Central Province on the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

of the returning officer."MR. HENRY CARSON"
'' The Western Mail'', 19 September 1908. At the 1908 state election later in the year, Carson reclaimed his former seat of Geraldton, although he held it for only a single term before being defeated again at the 1911 election. At the 1914 Legislative Council election, he won election to a six-year term in Central Province, as a member of the Country Party. Carson was defeated by Labor's

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

in his 1920 bid for re-election, and later recontested the seat in 1922 and 1926 without success. He also unsuccessfully stood for the seat of Irwin at the 1921 state election. Carson's final run for parliament came at the 1936 state election, where he was defeated by the sitting member, William Patrick, in the seat of Greenough. He died in Perth in July 1948, aged 81. He had married Mary Ryan in 1891, with whom he had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Henry 1866 births 1948 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors