Sir James George Lee Steere (4 July 18301 December 1903) was a

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 ...

n politician and a prominent member of the ''

six hungry families ''Six hungry families'' was a phrase used in the 1880s and 1890s to describe six of the most prominent and powerful families in colonial Western Australia, with extensive influence in judicial, political, mercantile and social circles. It was f ...

''.

Biography

Early life

James Steere was born on 4 July 1830 in

Ockley Ockley is a rural village in Surrey. It lies astride the A29, the modern road using the alignment of Stane Street (Chichester). The A29 diverges from the A24 from London about 2.5 miles northeast and takes the alignment of Stane Street a mile ...

, Surrey, England. He was the third of six sons of Lee Steere of

Jayes Jayes is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Brian Jayes (1932–1978), English football player * Laura Jayes (born 1983), Australian journalist and television presenter * Thomas Jayes Thomas Jayes (17 April 1877 – ...

, who was a leading resident and landed proprietor in the county (including High Sheriff in 1848), and his wife Anne, Watson. He was educated at Clapham Grammar School.

Career

He became a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the merchant service and was at sea for fifteen years. His last position was commander of the ''Devonshire'', well-known

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

. Early in 1860, he emigrated to

and leased 100,000 acres (400 km²) of land in the southern part of the colony. In 1867, he was one of the first elected members 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 ...

, won his seat again in 1870, and was then chosen leader of the elected members. In 1880, he lost his seat by one vote but almost immediately became a nominee member. He was made a member of the Executive Council in 1884 and two years later was elected Speaker. In 1890, he was elected 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 ...

under

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

and was unanimously elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

. He held this position for the remainder of his life. He represented Western Australia at the federal conventions of 1891 and 1897, and was a member of the constitutional committee on each occasion. He was

knight 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1888, and created a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) in the New Year Honours list January 1900. He was regarded as an able, upright and hardworking member of the community. A good constitutional authority and an able Speaker, he was held in great respect by all parties in the house and by the public generally.

Personal life

He married Catherine Anne Leake, daughter of Sir

Luke Leake Sir Luke Samuel Leake (1828–1886), M.L.C., was a Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Biography Early life Luke Leake was born in 1828. He was the youngest son of Luke Leake, of Stoke Newington, Middlesex. Career He moved ...

, in 1859. They had 15 children, 11 of whom outlived him. Catherine died on 6 November 1922.

Death

He died in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, on 1 December 1903, and was buried at

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 ...

. Artist

Florence Fuller Florence Ada Fuller (1867 – 17 July 1946) was a South African-born Australian artist. Originally from Port Elizabeth, Fuller migrated as a child to Melbourne with her family. There she trained with her uncle Robert Hawker Dowling and teacher ...

posthumously painted his portrait, which was acquired by the

Art Gallery of Western Australia The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steere, James George Lee 1830 births 1903 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Settlers of Western Australia English emigrants to Australia Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Politicians awarded knighthoods 19th-century Australian politicians Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery