Sir Henry Briggs (17 March 1844 – 8 June 1919),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, was 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 ...

for 23 years, and its

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

for 13 years.

Life

Born in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

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on 17 March 1844, Henry Briggs was the son of shoemaker George Briggs and Sarah née Tibbutt. He was educated at Kettering National School and later at St. Mark's College in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

where he was a

Queen's Scholar The Kings's Scholarships (formerly Queen's Scholarships} are forty-eight scholarships (eight per year until Sixth Form, then twelve per year) at Westminster School, (re)founded in 1560 by Queen Elizabeth I. The scholars take part in the coronatio ...

. He became a lecturer on scientific matters for the

South Kensington Museum South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

, and was headmaster of Mottram Grammar School from 1868 to 1878.Toby Manford, 'Briggs, Sir Henry (1844–1919)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/briggs-sir-henry-5359/text9063, accessed 28 August 2013. In 1878 the board of governors sent him 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 ...

to found the

Fremantle Grammar School Fremantle Grammar School is a defunct school and heritage-listed building in Fremantle, Western Australia. Architecture The building stands at 200 High Street, opposite Monument Hill. It was built by Melbourne architect Charles Inksep in the ...

. He became the school's headmaster from its establishment in 1885 until 1889, when he resigned to open his own school. The governors of his old school were presented with Briggs leaving and all the pupils following him. He later purchased the Fremantle Grammar School and returned as its headmaster until 1897. (The grammar school closed in 1905 and that was put down to Briggs' interest in politics.Education in Western Australia
Walter Douglas Neal, 1979, page 60) Briggs became secretary of the

Fremantle Chamber of Commerce The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce is a business and commerce advocacy association in Fremantle, Western Australia. History In 1853 the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce was founded. In 1873 the Chamber of Commerce requested and was grant ...

in 1883, holding the position until 1895. In that year he became a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. On 30 June 1896, Briggs was elected to the

for the West Province in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

occasioned by the resignation of Edward Davies. He became heavily involved in the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

movement, becoming president of the Fremantle branch of the Australian Federation League, and representing Western Australia at a series of federal conventions, including the National Australasian Convention in Adelaide in 1897, and the Australasian Federal Conventions in Sydney in 1897 and Melbourne in 1898. On 7 June 1900 he was appointed Chairman of Committees in the Legislative Council, holding the office until 20 June 1906, when he was promoted to President of the Legislative Council. He would hold the presidency until his death 13 years later. Briggs' contributions during his parliamentary career include examining a scheme of commercial qualifications in 1904, and being a member of the 1910 Royal Commission into the establishment of the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. He was also a member of the committee on technical education, a trustee of the Western Australian public library, museum and art gallery, and a prominent

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. In 1916, Briggs was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

for his work as President of the Legislative Council. He died, unmarried, on 8 June 1919, and was buried in

Fremantle Cemetery Fremantle Cemetery is a cemetery located in the eastern part (Palmyra) of Fremantle, Western Australia. Established in 1898, it is known as the final resting place of Bon Scott, several murderers and dozens of other notable Australians. There ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Henry 1844 births 1919 deaths Australian schoolteachers Briffs, Henry Chairmen of Committees of the Western Australian Legislative Council Schoolteachers from Cheshire Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Kettering Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian federationists British emigrants to Australia