John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was the 15th

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

, serving from 1936 until 1945. He was a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

Early life

John Willcock was born at Frogmoor (now

Frogmore Frogmore is an estate within the Home Park, adjoining Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. It comprises , of primarily private gardens managed by the Crown Estate. It is the location of Frogmore House, a royal retreat, and Frogmore Cottage. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

on 9 August 1879. The son of miner Joseph Willcock, he was educated at

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...

, before emigrating 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 ...

in 1897. He was employed on the Fremantle Harbour Works until 1899, then spent two years as an engine driver or cleaner for

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

. In 1902 he moved to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, where he worked as a railway fireman until 1912. In 1907 he married Sicily Ann Stone, with whom he had three sons and three daughters. From 1912 to 1917 he worked as an engine driver.

Political career

Willcock became an active and enthusiastic member of the Labor Party (ALP), holding various offices in the Geraldton branch of the Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union, and representing them at Federal conferences. From 1914 to 1917 he was President of the Geraldton District Council of the ALP, and he was 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 ...

from 1915. On 14 April 1917 he contested 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 ...

seat of Geraldton 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 Ernest Heitmann, but was defeated by

Samuel Elliott Samuel Richard Lewes Elliott (21 April 1860 – 14 July 1933) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1913 to 1914 and for a brief period in 1917, on both occasi ...

. Five months later he won the seat in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 29 September 1917. He was soon made a member of the executive of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

, and became secretary of the

Parliamentary Labor Party The Parliamentary Labor Party (also known as the Premiers' Plan Labor Party or Ministerial Labor Party) was a political party active in South Australia from August 1931 until June 1934. The party came into existence as a result of intense dispu ...

. On 16 April 1924, Willcock was appointed Minister for Railways and Justice and Minister for Police in the Collier ministry. He held the Police portfolio until 25 June 1928, and the Railways and Justice portfolio until the defeat of the Collier government on 23 April 1930. From 1927 to 1930 he was deputy leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party. When the Labor party returned to power under Collier on 24 April 1933, Willcock resumed as Minister for Railways and Justice, and was also given the Education portfolio. He relinquished the Education portfolio on 26 March 1935, when he was reappointed deputy leader. On 19 August the following year, Collier stepped down as premier and leader of the Labor Party, and the following day Willcock was appointed his successor. Relinquishing the Railways and Justice portfolio, he took the offices of Premier,

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

and Minister for Forests. He dropped the Forests portfolio on 9 December 1943, but held the other offices for nearly nine years, resigning for reasons of ill health on 31 July 1945. During his time as Premier of Western Australia, Willcock represented Western Australia at the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

in May 1937. He was known for his "disarming modesty". After resigning as premier, Willcock retired to the backbenches until the general election of 15 March 1947, at which he did not re-contest his seat. He died on 7 June 1956 at St John of God Hospital,

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

, and was buried in

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

. John Willcock College (opened as John Willcock Senior High School), established in

in 1975, was named after Willcock until it was renamed Champion Bay Senior High School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willcock, John Collings 1879 births 1956 deaths Deputy Premiers of Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from New South Wales Premiers of Western Australia People from Geraldton Treasurers of Western Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia