Sir Walter Hartwell James , (29 March 1863 – 3 January 1943) was the fifth

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

and an ardent supporter of the

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

movement.

Background and early career

James was born 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 i ...

, in what was then the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colony 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 ...

. He was educated at Perth Boys School and later at Perth High School (now

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to be ...

). After his father's death, his mother remarried to

George Randell George Randell (5 October 1830 – 2 June 1915) was an Australian businessman and politician. He served intermittently in the Parliament of Western Australia between 1875 and 1910, including as a minister in the government of Sir John Forrest. ...

, a member of the Legislative Council. James was thus the step-brother of

Ernest Randell Ernest Arthur Randell (25 January 1873 – 12 May 1938) was an Australian cricketer who played three first-class matches for Western Australia in the 1890s. He was an all-rounder who batted left-handed and bowled left-arm orthodox spin. Early ...

, who later played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

for

. In his youth, James worked as a jackaroo at De Grey Station in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

, but after being shipwrecked off

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class ...

in 1883 on his way to the Pilbara, he turned to the legal profession. He was articled to

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying l ...

in 1883, and was admitted to the Western Australian bar in 1888. Shortly afterwards he went into partnership with Leake. James also played football for the Rovers Football Club in the West Australian Football Association. He later served as secretary of the Association. On 21 June 1892, he married Eleanora Marie Gwenifryd Hearder.

Political career

From 1890 to 1896, James represented Central Ward on

Perth City Council 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 1894 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly seat of East Perth. James sat in the Legislative Assembly as an independent, and was a consistent opponent of John Forrest's government. He was a strong advocate for social reform, working for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

over a long period, and playing an active part in the establishment of a compulsory, free, secular education system. He became an active member of the Western Australian Liberal Association, a reformist organisation that pursued liberal ideals. James was also strongly in favour of

, and campaigned heavily with

and James Gardiner for Western Australia to become an original member of the Federation. He was a member of the Western Australian delegation to the Federal Conventions of 1897 and 1898, but missed three quarters of its votes, the worst absence record of any delegate. In May 1898 he helped found the Federal League, and in the same month Edmund Barton thanked James for his "generous contributions" to the Yes campaign in the NSW federation referendum. On 28 June 1901, James was appointed minister without portfolio in the first Leake government. In 1902 he was made KC. After Leake died in late June 1902, "Nutty" James, as he was popularly known, was appointed Premier and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on 1 July. As premier, James fought for the state's interests against an aggressive Commonwealth executive. He also led a reforming government; its achievements include legalization of the union movement, the first

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

, a stronger Arbitration Act, and the opening of the current Parliament House. James also tried but failed to reform the franchise; he achieved only the abolition of

plural voting Plural voting is the practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. It is not to be confused with a plurality voting system which does not necessarily involve plural voting. Weighted voting is a generalisation of p ...

, and an increase in

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 ...

representation. These changes appear to have been his undoing, as it is likely that they were key factors in Labor's strong support in the election of 28 June 1904, after which James was defeated when Parliament next met on 10 August 1904.

Post-political career

On 22 September 1904, James resigned from parliament to take up an appointment as Agent-General for Western Australia in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

on 28 June 1907. After returning to Perth from London, he devoted himself to his legal practice and rose to prominence as a leading member of the Bar. In 1910 he contested the Legislative Assembly seat of Beverley at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, but was unsuccessful. James was involved with the East Perth Cricket Club (now

Perth Cricket Club Perth Cricket Club is a cricket team based in Perth, Western Australia. The club competes in the Western Australian Grade Cricket (Premier cricket) competition. History The club was officially formed on May 23, 1862. at a meeting held at th ...

) in the WACA and served a two-season term as President of the club from 1908 to 1910. In 1909, James was appointed to a Royal Commission to enquire into the establishment of a university in Perth. When the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

was established, he became a founding member. He continued to serve the university for many years, and was elected pro-Chancellor on 19 August 1929 and Chancellor on 17 March 1930; and retired in 1936. In 1931, James was elevated to

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

. In 1932, he declined an offer from Premier James Mitchell to become Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia. In 1936, he accepted an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of Doctor of Laws. He died on 3 January 1943, 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 ...

Background and early career

Political career

Post-political career

See also

References

Further reading