John Charles Griffiths Foulkes (22 March 1861 – 4 December 1935) 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 Council from 1894 to 1896 and as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1902 to 1911. Foulkes was born in

Llanyblodwel Llanyblodwel is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England; the spelling "Llanyblodwell" was commonly used in the past, and the village was sometimes simply referred to as "Blodwel". The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England, a small village on the Welsh border. He attended

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

before going on to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, where he graduated in 1884. Foulkes afterward trained as a solicitor, serving his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

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, Wales. He came to Western Australia in 1890, and set up a law practice in Bunbury.John Charles Griffiths Foulkes
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2016. In 1894, he stood for the Legislative Council's South-West Province, and was elected to a two-year term. In December 1895, Foulkes left on a health trip to Europe, intending to return in time to contest his seat at the 1896 Legislative Council elections. However, on the return voyage, his wife was taken ill with

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, forcing them to remain in Italy while she recovered (and him to miss the election and thus lose his seat). After eventually arriving back in Australia, Foulkes moved his law practice to

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 ...

. He re-entered parliament at the 1902 Claremont by-election, which had been caused by the resignation of the sitting member,

William Sayer William Frederic Sayer KC (3 December 1857 – 26 February 1943) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1902. He was attorney-general in the short-lived governmen ...

, and retained it at the 1904 state election. When parliament sat for the first time after the 1904 election, Foulkes was nominated by the government of

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

(recently reduced to a minority in the assembly) to serve as

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 ...

. The opposing candidate, Mathieson Jacoby, was elected "by a large margin", a result which was said to have marked "the beginning of the end" for the James government."THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT."
– ''The West Australian'', 29 July 1904. Foulkes remained in parliament until his retirement at the 1911 state election, and in 1913 returned to England. He died in London in December 1935, aged 74. His brother-in-law,

Adam Jameson Adam Jameson (5 May 1860 – 12 March 1907) was a Scottish-born physician who was a member of parliament and government minister in both the Australian state of Western Australia and the Transvaal Colony (in present-day South Africa). Early life ...

, was also a member of parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foulkes, John 1861 births 1935 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Australian people of Welsh descent English emigrants to Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at Shrewsbury School Lawyers from Shropshire