William Dartnell Johnson (9 October 1870 – 26 January 1948) was an Australian politician who was prominent in state politics 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 ...

for most of the first half of the 20th century. A member of the Labor Party, he served in the Legislative Assembly on three occasions – from 1901 to 1905, then again from 1906 to 1917, and finally from 1924 until his death. Johnson was elected leader of the Labor Party (and thus

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

) in October 1905, but three weeks later lost his own seat at the 1905 state election. He had previously been a minister in the government of

Henry Daglish Henry Daglish (18 November 1866 – 16 August 1920) was an Australian politician who was the sixth premier of Western Australia and the first from the Labor Party, serving from 10 August 1904 to 25 August 1905. Daglish was born in Ballarat, V ...

(from August 1904 to August 1905), and later returned to the ministry under

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 ...

(from October 1911 to July 1916). Towards the end of his career, Johnson also served just under a year as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

, from 1938 to 1939.

Early life

William Dartnell Johnson was born on 9 October 1870 in

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

.J. R. Robertson,
Johnson, William Dartnell (1870–1948)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 18 March 2014 His father was George Groheim Johnson, a plumber, and his mother, Elizabeth Ann McCormish. He went to the Turakina State School in Turakina until the age of thirteen. From the age of thirteen to the age of sixteen, he worked in a post office. He then worked as a carpenter, emigrating to

in 1894, at the age of twenty-four. A year later, he moved to the

Goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...

, settling in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

. There, he founded the Kalgoorlie branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, and he served as its first President. He also helped establish the Kalgoorlie, Boulder and District Trades and Labor Council, and served as its secretary for two years. He then served as the first business manager of the ''

Westralian Worker The ''Westralian Worker'' was a newspaper established in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 1900 and published until its demise in 1951 in Perth, Western Australia. History It was established as the ''Official organ of the Western Australian L ...

'', a newspaper in Kalgoorlie.

Politics

He became a member of the Labor Party. From 1901 to 1905, he served as the Labor MLA for the

Electoral district of Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia. The district includes not only the town of Kalgoorlie, but significant parts of the outback in central and eastern Western Australia ...

in 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 ...

. During his tenure, he spearheaded the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at Fremantle an ...

. In 1904, he served as Western Australia's Minister for Works, and later as regional Minister for Mines and Railways.Western Australia Ministers of Railways & Transports
/ref> He then became the leader of the Western Australian Labor Party, but quit his role in October 1905. From 1906 to 1917, he served as MLA for the

Electoral district of Guildford Guildford was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1901 to 1962. Known as Guildford-Midland from 1930 onwards, the district was located in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth. His ...

in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In October 1911, he began a term as Minister for Works, and from November 1914 he served as Minister for Lands and Agriculture. In the assembly, his proposal to build a railway line going North from

Esperance, Western Australia Esperance is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The urban population of Esperance was 12,145 at June 2018. Its major in ...

rejected. In January 1915, he helped pass the Industries Assistance Act to help farmers whose livelihood had been jeopardized by the recent drought. However, he lost his ministerial portfolio as a result of the

Nevanas affair The Nevanas affair was a political scandal in Western Australia that was partly responsible for the downfall of John Scaddan's Labor government. Early in 1914, Scaddan and one of his ministers signed a contract with the London financier S. V. Ne ...

. Moreover, he lost his seat in the assembly to Joseph Davies (1866-1954) as a result of his opposition to the conscription of Western Australians in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From 1924 to 1930, he served again as MLA for the Electoral district of Guildford in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and from 1930 to 1940 as MLA for the Electoral district of Guildford-Midland. He also served as Speaker of the Assembly from August 1938 to August 1939, and as Chairman of the parliamentary party from 1924 to 1948. He was a 'state socialist' and rejected the proposed secession of Western Australia. He was a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Personal life

On 27 November 1901, he married Jessie Elizabeth Stewart, née McCallum, who had been recently widowed. They had a son and three daughters.

Death

He died on 26 January 1948, and he was buried in the

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 ...

in Perth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William Dartnell 1870 births 1948 deaths People from Whanganui People from Kalgoorlie Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Australian Freemasons Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia New Zealand emigrants to Australia