Henry Osborn (2 June 1859 – 22 July 1937) was an Australian politician, and a member of 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 ...

from 1908 until 1911 representing the seat of Roebourne, as well as the mayor of two different municipalities in

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 ...

Biography

Osborn was born in the Victoria Plains region to William Osborn, a blacksmith, and Sarah née Newsom. He was educated locally, and in 1884, moved to the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

region where he worked at first as a labourer, then as a blacksmith and wheelwright in the town of Roebourne, as well as working as an undertaker. On 23 May 1888, he married Ada Cave at the

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

Church, but she died only nine months later. Osborn then became a carrier of gold between the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

goldfields and Roebourne, but later returned to Roebourne where, by 1891, he had taken up employment as the publican at the Jubilee Hotel with his sister Rose. On 19 December 1894, he married Elizabeth Thompson at Roebourne, with whom he was to have two sons and one daughter. In December 1894, he was elected mayor of the Roebourne Municipal Council, in which capacity he served for two years. In 1897, he moved to

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of G ...

and became a partner in an aerated waters firm. He entered the Midland Junction Municipal Council following a by-election in 1903 and continued for the next seven years. At the September 1908 state election, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term as the Ministerial member for Roebourne. At the October 1911 state election, he was defeated by a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate. In 1910, following Minister for Lands James Mitchell's call for men to take up land and populate the interior, Osborn and his brother -in-law acquired land in

Bruce Rock Bruce Rock is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately east of Perth and southwest of Merredin. It is the main town in the Shire of Bruce Rock. History Originally known as Nunagin or Noonegin, the name of ...

in the eastern Wheatbelt region, where he farmed for the rest of his life. He became involved in the Bruce Rock

Co-operative Society A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratical ...

, and was its inaugural chairman from 1917 until his death. Osborn died on 22 July 1937 at Bruce Rock, where he was buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Henry 1859 births 1937 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Mayors of places in Western Australia People from the Wheatbelt (Western Australia) Western Australian local councillors Colony of Western Australia people Funeral directors