Robert Thomson Robinson (18 January 1867 – 19 September 1926) was an Australian lawyer 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 1914 to 1921, representing the seat of Canning. He served as a minister in the governments of Frank Wilson,

Henry Lefroy Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia. Biography Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Weste ...

, Hal Colebatch, and James Mitchell.

Early life

Robinson was born in

Ballybay Ballybay () is a town and civil parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town is centred on the crossroads of the R183 and R162 regional roads. Geography The town is the meeting point for roads going to Monaghan, Castleblayney, Carrickma ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

, Ireland, to Margaret (née Thomson) and John Robinson.Robert Thomson Robinson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2016. His family moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1873, where his younger brother, Herbert Robinson, was born, and then to

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

, in June 1878.Herbert Robinson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 May 2016. Robinson and his brother were both sent to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to be educated, attending

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

. Entering the legal profession, he was articled to Edward Hare of Albany and

Septimus Burt The Hon Septimus Burt KC (25 October 1847 – 15 May 1919) was a Western Australian lawyer, politician and grazier, the son of Sir Archibald Burt. He was born on 25 October 1847 at St Kitts in the West Indies, and educated at a private school ...

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 ...

, eventually becoming an associate to Sir Alexander Onslow, the

Chief Justice of Western Australia The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the S ...

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1889, Robinson returned to Albany in 1897 to go into partnership with Samuel Johnson Haynes, with their firm eventually becoming known as Hayes, Robinson, and Cox. He was made

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1914.

Politics

In 1908, Robinson was elected to the Perth Road Board (now the

City of Stirling The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, makin ...

). He would serve as a councillor until his death. At the 1914 state election, Robinson contested the seat of Canning as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate, defeating the sitting member,

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 la ...

's Charles Lewis, and the former member for

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

, Arthur Gull. He was elevated to the ministry in July 1916, when Frank Wilson replaced

John Scaddan John Scaddan, CMG (4 August 1876 – 21 November 1934), popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916. Early life John Scaddan was born in Moonta, South Australia, into a Cornish A ...

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 ...

, and was named Attorney-General and Minister for Mines. When the Wilson government fell in June 1917, Robinson retained the attorney-generalship in the new ministry led by Henry Lefroy, and was also made Minister for Woods and Forests and Minister for Industries, although he was replaced as Minister for Mines by John Scaddan. He also switched to the newly formed Nationalist Party. The Lefroy government fell in April 1919, with Robinson serving as Attorney-General, Minister for Forests, and Minister for Mines in the short-lived ministry led by Hal Colebatch. When that fell one month later, he retained the forests and mines portfolios in the new Mitchell government, but was replaced as Attorney-General by Thomas Draper. Robinson resigned from the ministry just after one month later, following disagreements with Mitchell. He remained in parliament until his defeat at the 1921 state election, losing Canning to Labor's

Alec Clydesdale Alexander McAllister Clydesdale MBE (16 July 1875 – 24 January 1947) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the ...

. At the 1924 election, Robinson unsuccessfully contested the seat of Albany, which had earlier been held by his brother.

Later life

Robinson died of heart disease in September 1926, 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 ...

. He was married three times, firstly in 1890 to Ellen Francisco, with whom he had five daughters. They divorced in 1902, and Robinson remarried the following year to Winifred Corless. They had no children together, and he was widowed in 1908. His third marriage, which lasted until his death, was to Elizabeth Hedges, with whom he had three sons and four daughters.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Robert 1867 births 1926 deaths Attorneys-General of Western Australia Australian Anglicans Australian barristers Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Albany, Western Australia Politicians from County Monaghan People educated at Prince Alfred College Western Australian local councillors Australian King's Counsel People from Ballybay Lawyers from County Monaghan