William Oats (27 October 1841 – 25 April 1911) was an Australian mining engineer and politician who 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 Assembly from 1897 to 1904 and a member of the Legislative Council from 1904 to 1910. He was known to the general public as Captain Oats, due to his status as a mining captain (head miner).

Early life and mining career

Oats was born in St Just, Penwith,

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 ...

, to Diana (née Jeffery) and Richard Oats. He started working in the mines at the age of eleven, and was made a mine manager in 1869. Oats came to Australia in 1884, initially managing a mine in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

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 ...

. He went to

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the following year, where he was in charge of a tin mine at Eurowrie (in the

Barrier Ranges The Barrier Ranges or sometimes the Barrier Range and historically the Stanley's Barrier Range, is a mountain range that comprises a series of hills and higher grounds in the far western region of New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the city o ...

). Oats came to Western Australia in 1888, having accepted the position of manager at a gold mine in

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

. He was subsequently responsible for making it into one of the first profitable gold mines in Western Australia.William Oats
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 June 2016.

Politics and later life

From 1895 to 1896, Oats served as mayor of the Southern Cross Municipality. He was elected to parliament at the 1897 general election, representing the seat of Yilgarn, and re-elected at the 1901 election. Oats retired from the Legislative Assembly at the 1904 election, but a few months later transferred to the Legislative Council, representing South Province. He served a single six-year term before retiring due to ill health, and died in

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 ...

in 1911, aged 69. Oats married twice and was widowed twice, having one daughter by his first wife, Mary Trevelick, and five children by his second wife, Eliza Merritt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oats, William 1841 births 1911 deaths Australian mining engineers Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from St Just in Penwith

Early life and mining career

Politics and later life

See also

References