Samuel Matthew Rocke (7 September 1874 – 3 June 1963) was an Australian politician who served as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 1917 to 1921, representing the seat of South Fremantle. Rocke was born on

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 ...

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

to Sarah (née Jennings) and Andrew Rocke. He arrived in Western Australia in 1895 and settled in

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 ...

, where he initially worked as a produce merchant before joining the public service. He became the assistant storekeeper at

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottage ...

in 1910.Samuel Matthew Rocke
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2017. Rocke entered parliament at the 1917 state election, winning South Fremantle as an "Independent

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 ...

" candidate by just six votes over

Harry Bolton Harry Edward Bolton (24 December 1870 – 18 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1904 to 1917, as the member for North Fremantle until 1911 and for South Fremantle the ...

, the sitting

National Labor Party The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pri ...

member. He served a single term in parliament before suffering a heavy defeat at the 1921 election, where he polled just 9.2 percent on

first preferences In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

. After leaving politics, Rocke eventually moved to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, where he worked for Sanitarium Australia. He died in

Kurri Kurri Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...

in June 1963, aged 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocke, Samuel 1874 births 1963 deaths Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian politicians