Sir Henry Keith Watson (22 August 1900 – 13 January 1973) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was a leader of the Western Australian secession movement in the 1930s, holding office in the Dominion League of Western Australia. He was a prominent campaigner in the 1933 secession referendum and served on the delegation to the British parliament which ultimately failed to achieve the movement's aims. Watson later represented 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 ...

in 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 ...

from 1948 to 1968. He was a tax accountant by profession and a long-serving chairman of the

Perth Building Society Perth Building Society was Western Australia’s first building society. It operated from 1862 to 1987, when it amalgamated with the Hotham Permanent Building Society to form Challenge Bank. PBS was founded by WA Attorney General George Frederick ...

Early life

Watson was born on 22 August 1900 in

Southern Cross, Western Australia Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of state capital Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. It was founded by gold prospectors in 1888, and gazetted in 1890. It is the major town and administrative centre of the Shire ...

. He was the son of Martha Elizabeth (née Smith) and William Henry Watson. He moved 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 ...

as a child, attending state schools in Cottesloe and Claremont. He left school at the age of 14 to work as a messenger boy for a solicitor's firm. In 1919, Watson passed an examination to join the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Go ...

as a clerk in the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

, later transferring to the Federal Taxation Office.

Business career

Watson resigned from the public service in 1921 to enter into private practice as a tax accountant. In the 1920s he was managing director of Rowdell Ltd, a taxation consulting firm. In 1930, a two-year legal battle against the federal government over a tax debt ended when his final appeal was rejected by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

in ''Watson v Commissioner of Taxation''. Watson was elected an associate of the Institute of Incorporated Secretaries in 1929 and a fellow in 1946. He had a long association with the

, serving as a director from 1932 to 1972, as chairman from 1951 to 1971 and as state president of the Association of Permanent Building Societies from 1951 to 1969. He was also WA chairman of flour milling firm W. Thomas & Co. (1950–1963) and a director of the Western Australian Insurance Co. Ltd (1949–1960), Western Press Ltd. (1951–1955) and George Weston Foods Ltd. (1967–1970).

Politics

Federal politics

Watson was an unsuccessful candidate for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

on three occasions, standing in the seat of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

at the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and 1931 federal elections. He was the endorsed

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

candidate against

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

in 1929 and stood as independent Nationalists at the other two contests.

Secession movement

In 1930, Watson became one of the co-founders of the pro-secession

Dominion League Secessionism has been a recurring feature of Western Australia's political landscape since shortly after Federation in 1901. The idea of self-governance or secession has often been discussed through local newspaper articles and editorials. On a ...

first as its treasurer and later as secretary. Watson launched the League's public campaign at

His Majesty's Theatre, Perth His Majesty's Theatre is an Edwardian Baroque theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Constructed from 1902 to 1904 during a period of great growth for the town, the theatre is located on the corner of Hay Street and King Street in Perth's cent ...

on 30 July 1930. He promoted the League through a campaign of pamphlets, newspaper articles and letters to the editors of the major newspapers promoting secession ideals and the need for a referendum on the issue. The campaign ultimately resulted in a 1933 referendum which was won by a two-thirds majority YES vote, largely as a result of his enthusiastic campaigning. Oddly, the pro-secessionist Nationalist Party was voted out in the State election which was held at the same time and the new

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 ...

Government headed by new

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 ...

Philip Collier Philip Collier (21 April 1873 – 18 October 1948) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th Premier of Western Australia from 1924 to 1930 and from 1933 to 1936. He was leader of the Labor Party from 1917 to 1936, and is Western Aus ...

had campaigned to support the retention of the State in the

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. Collier managed to dither with a decision on the secession question until 1934 when he appointed a delegation to present the secession petition to London. Watson joined the delegation with Sir

Hal Colebatch Sir Harry Pateshall Colebatch (29 March 1872 – 12 February 1953) was a long-serving and occasionally controversial figure in Western Australian politics. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly 20 years, the ...

, Matthew Moss and

James MacCallum Smith James MacCallum Smith (26 April 1868 – 6 August 1939) was an Australian politician, newspaper proprietor and stock breeder. He lobbied unsuccessfully for many years for the secession of Western Australia from the Federation of Australia. Bio ...

(MLA and proprietor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' newspaper). They returned to Perth in 1935 frustrated at the British Parliament's refusal to accept the petition and by 1938 the Dominion League had become inactive.

Later activities

In the 1948 elections, Watson was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council for the Metropolitan Province. The seat was previously held by L. B. Bolton who had deceased. He served in the parliament for the next twenty years until his retirement in 1968 when he was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. In 1933 Watson was made a vice-president of the National Party (the forerunner to the Liberal Party) and to the Liberal Party in 1948.

Personal life

Watson married Edith Wilson Symonds in 1926, with whom he had one son and two daughters. He died in

Bentley, Western Australia Bentley is a southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, southeast of Perth's central business district. Its local government areas are the City of Canning and the Town of Victoria Park. Bentley is home to the main campus ...

, on 13 January 1973, aged 72, having been predeceased by his daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Keith Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Separatism in Australia 1900 births 1973 deaths People from Southern Cross, Western Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian accountants Australian corporate directors