William Leonard Baker (16 May 1831 – 7 January 1893) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1890 until his death, representing the seat of East Kimberley. Baker was born in Newport, Wales. He emigrated to Australia in the early 1850s, during the Victorian gold rush, and later went to Queensland, where he was involved in mining ventures in Charters Towers and near the

Cape River The Cape River is a river of New Zealand. A tributary of the Opouawe River, it is located in the Wairarapa in the southern North Island. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterways named as rivers in New Zealand. ...

. Baker came to Western Australia in 1885, during a gold rush in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, and opened a store in Wyndham.William Leonard Baker
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2016. He was elected to parliament at the 1890 general election, which was the first to be held for the Legislative Assembly. Baker died 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 ...

in January 1893, having suffered from pleurisy and bronchitis for some time."GENERAL NEWS."
'' The Daily News'' (Perth, Western Australia), 9 January 1893. He was the first member of the Legislative Assembly to die in office.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, William Leonard 1831 births 1893 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Newport, Wales Welsh emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians