Samuel Mitchell (c. 1838 – 5 July 1912) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a pioneer of the mining industry in

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 ...

. He 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 1884 to 1885 and a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1897 to 1901.

Early life and business career

Mitchell was born in

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the son of a mining engineer, and worked in the Cornish tin mines from a young age. From there he was recruited as mine captain for the Geraldine Lead Mine, located on the Murchison River near

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; ...

, the first commercial mine in the colony. He, his brother James and a party of seven Cornish miners arrived at

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 ...

on the ''Zephyr'' on 13 November 1867. Mitchell later opened the Wheal Ellen and Badra lead mines, near Northampton, and in 1872 was elected to the Mines Roads Board. He served as chairman of the roads board from 1876 to 1879, and eventually left the mining business, settling down in Northampton as a storekeeper, stock agent and

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 ...

Politics

In 1884, Mitchell was elected to the Legislative Council, representing the seat of Geraldton. However, he served for less than a year before resigning, having never been sworn in and never attending a council meeting. At the 1897 state election, Mitchell was returned to parliament as a member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Murchison. He was defeated by

John Nanson John Leighton Nanson (22 September 1863 – 29 February 1916) was a journalist and politician in Western Australia. A former writer and sub-editor with ''The West Australian'', he served in the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 190 ...

at the 1901 election, and was also defeated by Nanson in a

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Ho ...

later in the year. At the 1904 state election, both Mitchell and Nanson contested the seat of Greenough, which was adjacent to Murchison but considered more winnable. Mitchell placed third with 21.9 percent of the vote, behind Nanson (35.0 percent) and the sitting member,

Patrick Stone Patrick Stone (14 March 1854 – 23 December 1926) was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1901 to 1904, and from 1905 to 1908. Born in Buncrana in Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland, on 14 March 1854, Patrick Stone wa ...

(25.6 percent).Greenough (1,151)
'' The Western Mail'', 2 July 1904.

Later years

Mitchell published an autobiography in 1911 (''Looking Backwards: Reminiscences of Forty-Two Years''), and died at his home, Chiverton House, Northampton in July 1912. He had married twice, both to Cornishwomen, and had 21 children – ten by his first wife, and eleven by his second. One of his grandsons was Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Prem ...

, who became 19th Premier of Western Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Samuel 1838 births 1912 deaths Australian miners Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Northampton, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors