Robert David Hutchinson (3 March 1857—14 July 1918) was an Australian politician, and 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 ...

from 1900 until 1904 representing the seat of

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. ...

Biography

Hutchinson was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, a town north of

, to Robert Hutchinson, the manager of the Waneranooka mine, and Mary Halloran. He worked with his father on the mine until 1878, when he left for

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He worked there with his brother as a builder, stonemason and contractor. On 14 December 1885 at St John's Church in the Sydney suburb of

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, he married Mary Ann Gray, with whom he had one son and three daughters. In 1890, he returned to Geraldton with his young family, and was elected to the Geraldton Town Council in 1892. He was made 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 ...

in 1898, and became Mayor of Geraldton from 1898 until 1900. At a by-election on 24 July 1900 following the resignation of Richard Robson, Hutchinson was elected to the

for the seat of

. He was in opposition to the party led by

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 ...

Sir

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

, and in the confusing parliamentary situation created by the 1901 election, he was counted with the supporters of

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying l ...

, who became Premier twice, and his successor

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 retired at the 1904 election. Following his time in Parliament, he worked in various temporary positions in the Department of Lands and Surveys and the Department of Public Works. He was elected to the Town Council for a year in 1908–1909. Hutchinson died on 14 July 1918 in Maylands, and was buried in the Anglican section of

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 ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Robert 1857 births 1918 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Geraldton Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Colony of Western Australia people