The Western Australian Liberal Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

which existed from 1911 until 1917 in the Australian state 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 ...

Background

The Party, which had its roots in various earlier political movements, came together in the period immediately prior to the 1911 state election under the guidance of Sir

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

, the Federal member for

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

and former

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, and other leading political figures in the State. It was assembled in response to the solid organisation of the Labor Party and had the aim of assisting Ministerial members in winning seats and retaining power 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 ...

. The Party did not involve itself in Federal politics, although many of its members were also associated with the

Commonwealth Liberal Party The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fu ...

and assisted Liberal candidates and members from Western Australia in that capacity. The massive defeat of the Ministerial faction by Labor in that election resulted in what remained of the faction formally joining the Liberal Party, which became the first organised non-Labor movement in the State and was a precursor to the Nationalist Party and, later, the modern

Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division) The Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division), branded as Liberal Western Australia, is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Western Australia. Founded in March 1949 as the Liberal and Country League of Western Austr ...

Leadership

The party was led for its entire duration in Parliament by Frank Wilson, who served as

Opposition Leader 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 ...

until 27 July 1916, and Premier thereafter. By June 1917, the party had been disbanded and fully subsumed into the Nationalist Party.

References

* Western Australia 1901 Defunct political parties in Western Australia Political parties established in 1911 Political parties disestablished in 1917 1911 establishments in Australia 1917 disestablishments in Australia {{Australia-party-stub