John Edward Hardwick (3 June 1867 – 5 August 1943) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1904 to 1911 and again from 1914 to 1921. He represented the seat of East Perth on both occasions.

Early life

Hardwick was born 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 ...

to Margaret (née McGuiness) and John Hardwick.John Edward Hardwick
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 28 December 2016. As a youth, he was a talented player of

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

, spending seven seasons in the West Australian Football Association (WAFA). This included 16 games for West Australians (1887–1888), 15 games for Metropolitans (1889–1890), and 37 games for West Perth (1891–1893). Hardwick left Perth to work in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

as a bootmaker and saddler, and then in 1894 went to the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the town ...

, running a business in Coolgardie with his brother. He served as a

Municipality of Coolgardie The Municipality of Coolgardie was a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in Western Australia, centred on the town of Coolgardie, Western Australia, Coolgardie. It was established on 4 July 1894. It initially met in ...

councillor from 1900 to 1901. He then returned to Perth, and was a member of the

Perth City Council 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 ...

from 1901 to 1904.

Politics

Hardwick entered parliament at the 1904 East Perth by-election, caused by the resignation of the

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

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 ...

. He was re-elected at the

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

and 1908 state elections, and had intended to stand again in 1911, but made a mistake in submitting his nomination and was thus unable to be listed on the ballot."THE EAST PERTH NOMINATIONS"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', 25 September 1911. His seat was won by

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 ...

's Titus Lander. Hardwick reclaimed East Perth at the 1914 election, standing for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was re-elected at the 1917 election for the newly formed Nationalist Party, but at the 1921 election lost his seat to Labor's

Jack Simons John "Jack" Joseph Simons (also widely known and referred to as J. J. Simons and J. J. "Boss" Simons (12 August 1882 – 24 October 1948) was an Australian businessman and politician, best known for establishing the Young Australia League. Ear ...

. He failed to even make the final

two-candidate-preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...

count. Hardwick made one final run for parliament at the 1922 Legislative Council elections, but lost to

James Macfarlane James MacFarlane (17 July 1866 – 11 December 1942) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Canterbury and Otago between the 1887–88 and 1895–96 seasons.

Later life

After leaving politics, Hardwick managed hotels at Dwellingup and Bolgart for periods. He died in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

in 1943, aged 76. He had married Esther Davis in 1895, with whom he had seven children, and was widowed in 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, John 1867 births 1943 deaths Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors West Perth Football Club players Businesspeople from Western Australia